[4] Ruiz's first business was in putting on popular shows, a pursuit he never gave up through his filmmaking efforts.

[6][7] Ruiz and Wolcopt may have shown a film called Disputa entre Andracistas y Rojistas,[8] which showed a fight between supporters of that year's political candidates Ignacio Andrade and Juan Pablo Rojas Paúl; the nature of the film suggests a Venezuelan author, but there are few records of it.

[7] Ruiz then hired Gabriel Veyre to show his Cinematograph at the Circo[7] after seeing him project another film at the Fortuna Hall in Caracas.

[12] Azuaga García describes Ruiz's choice to hold film showings in a circus as "gaudy", as the previous screenings were held in spectacular theatres and halls, but also suggests it was Ruiz's attempt to "truly bring cinema to the popular classes".

[5] Elisa Martínez de Badra reviews the cinema of early Venezuela shortly by suggesting that the partnership of Ruiz and Wolcopt, along with the first Venezuelan films shown in January 1897, can be considered early examples of attempts at narrative cinema.