Maravilla and Me
I no longer remember how long I’ve been in LA (it’s somewhere around a decade), but it feels like my friendship with Gerardo Maravilla arrived fully formed. That isn’t technically true, of course. We talked a bit while attending monthly meetings of an AANHPI arts collective we were both members are, and eventually we met up for lunch outside of those meetings and bonded over Tim Burton, Batman, and Tim Burton’s Batman. Our adventures became legendary and our creative partnership produced its share of projects and awards, with his short film Desert being a particular high-water mark. He’s a masterful storyteller, unafraid to attune to the darkness within and without in order to delve into the complexities of our human nature. His first drafts set an impossibly high bar, and the final product is the cinematic equivalent of a polished, cut gem. He writes, he paints, he directs, he’s even begun releasing a comic, The Halloween Club, which marries many of his artistic sensibilities to tell a heart wrenching, addictive story.
As a friend, he’s been there for me through panic attacks, my years of being unhoused, and my career highs (not everyone who you think will be happy for your success is actually happy for your success, but he’s a real one). As a person he works tirelessly for the least of us, defying systemic biases and oppression to lift us all up through not only art, but his activism as well. Today’s his birthday, but my appreciation for him is every day. I am and always will be madly in love with him.
Every book in the Horror Historia collection is dedicated to Gerardo. Support him and his work—you can get started by checking out his official website and his Instagram. GIVE HIM MONEY. HIRE HIM. PROGRAM HIS FILMS. And such. He pours so much into the world and the world is better for it.
