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Rafael Agustín was a writer on the award-winning The CW show, Jane The Virgin, is the author of the bestselling comedic memoir, Illegally Yours (Grand Central Publishing), and is a past Sundance Institute Episodic Fellow.
Jul 12, 2022 · In his new memoir, Illegally Yours, Agustin recounts how his parents — who had been a pediatric surgeon and an anesthesiologist in Ecuador — wound up working at a car wash and a Kmart in...
Rafael Agustin is a multi-talented creative who has worked on Jane The Virgin, The Amateur, and Chipster. He is also a bestselling author, a human rights advocate, and a board member of the Library of Congress and Mother Jones Magazine.
- Writer, Actor, Producer
Jul 12, 2022 · Author Rafael Agustin writes candidly about growing up a "blissful, stupid American kid" protected from the reality of his immigration status.
- Pamela Avila
- Trending Editor, Entertainment
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- Afraid of speaking Spanish
In high school, Rafael Agustin was desperately trying to be a "normal" Southern California teen. He was a young American who liked action movies, television shows like "Saved by the Bell" and of course, the singer Paula Abdul.
But he had a big secret.
“We came as immigrants and they never told me we were undocumented," Agustin said, speaking about his parents, who were physicians in Ecuador — an anesthesiologist and a pediatric surgeon — but had working-class jobs in the United States. "I grew up an ignorant but all-American kid and, in high school, I couldn’t get my driver’s license because I didn’t have papers. It was like a shock."
Agustin, 41, an acclaimed screenwriter ("Jane the Virgin"), producer and actor, has received widespread praise for his recently published book, "Illegally Yours," a memoir in which he describes growing up in the United States and grappling with his undocumented status more or less on his own. He has written it in a style that combines humor and heartbreak — and best describes the way he sees life.
“I always wanted to tell our story as a comedy because, for me, it is very important that it be accessible and entertaining. I have read other memoirs that are — very sad, but I don’t see the world like that,” he said. “I want anyone, documented or undocumented, to be able to read the book and not only laugh or have fun, but also feel identified."
“Illegally Yours” elicits both tears and laughter as he writes about trying to become the most popular student in high school while wrestling with his immigration issues, upbringing and heritage.
One of the most moving moments of the book captures a terrifying incident for the author. Early one Sunday morning in the late 1980s, he was walking with his father on the beach in San Clemente, California.
Suddenly, a man ran past and was later stopped by two armed immigration agents. Agustin never forgot two things. He asked his father what was going on and then saw the intense fear in his dad’s eyes as he ordered Agustin, 'Don’t speak Spanish!'”
“Now that I’m an adult," Agustin said, "I understand that he was telling me not to speak Spanish while the migra (immigration authorities) were there. But since I was a child and I saw the terror in my dad's eyes, I decided not to speak Spanish for the rest of my youth, and that hurts a lot."
He said it wasn't until high school that he started speaking Spanish again with his parents, a little bit at a time.
Agustin’s book joins a series of notable memoirs that have stood out for vividly capturing the U.S. immigrant experience. These include "The Distance Between Us" by Reyna Grande, "Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen" by journalist Jose Antonio Vargas, and even the recent collection of poems — "Diaries of a Terrorist" — by Christopher Soto.
“We have to change the narrative of immigrants in this country to change the minds and hearts of Americans," he said. "People have to remember that most of the immigrants from Europe who came to Ellis Island were undocumented and processed in two, three hours. We can do that today, but we don’t want to and that’s the problem."
Rafael Agustin is a writer, author, and filmmaker who worked on Jane The Virgin and founded the Latino Film Institute. He has received several awards and honors, including the Spirit of Los Angeles Award and the Alumnus of the Year from Mt. San Antonio College.
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Jul 12, 2022 · July 12, 20223:17 PM ET. Rafael Agustin's parents were physicians in Ecuador, but when they came to the U.S. they worked at a car wash and Kmart to get by. It wasn't until he was a teen...
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