Cruz's dramatic work is part of a larger genre of Latino and Latina literature. Latino writers are writers of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Latin American descent who live in the mainland United States. American audiences began to develop a greater interest in Latino literature in the late 1980s, and narrative writers like Sandra Cisneros, Luis Rodriguez, and Julia Alvarez gained widespread popularity.

Latino writers generally write about their communities in order to preserve their heritage and explore the experiences of bicultural citizens living in a predominantly Caucasian country. Cruz's narrator in "Rats" experiences difficulties in suburban Connecticut where her background and her Bronx accent transform her into an exotic creature and an object for show-and-tell. Latino writers also explain that they tell their stories, and those of their families, in order to define themselves and to prevent others from defining. This is particularly relevant as...