Despite the fact that the 35-year-old Miami native will fly to Los Angeles in a few days to receive a 2023 International Latino Book Award for best fantasy novel written in English for The Miami Creation Myth: A Culturo-Cosmic Adventure, he hesitates to consider himself an author.
He looks down at the empty table and shakes his head as he lets out a large sigh, followed by a chuckle. "Everything in my life has been a series of surprises."
Before he was a published — and highly decorated — author, Otazo was a writer. He has worn all sorts of hats in every shape and color imaginable, from politics to research to communications to marketing to public relations. Yet, no matter the role, writing was invariably involved.
Otazo sits up straight and shimmies his shoulders as he settles into the booth to share a detailed account of the origin of the Miami Creation Myth.
"It started as a standalone story," he says of the sketch that would later become the first chapter of the full-length book. "I wrote this extremely silly short story, essentially laying out a parallel universe based off Miami-Dade County that was formed by Pachanga as a creator."
He pauses to laugh. "I then submitted it to Acentos Review, which is one of the premier Latino literary journals in the world, and for some reason they published it."
He attributes the motivation to turn his silly short story into a proper fantasy novel to his longtime friend, filmmaker Danny Mendoza. Otazo approached Mendoza with an idea: to turn it into a short film.
Mendoza's response? An affectionate "no."
Otazo laughs at the recollection. "He said, 'If you go write a whole book, maybe we can turn it into a TV series,' which I'm pretty sure was just his way of telling me to go away. But then I was like, 'All right, I'll write a whole book.'"
And a whole book he wrote. Six years after writing the short story, Otazo self-published The Miami Creation Myth and created the hilarious @miamicreationmyth Instagram account, which is nearing 15,000 followers. Now, he'll be on a panel at the Miami Book Fair. Because Miami.
He'll share the stage with Daniela Perez and Gesi Schilling, co-authors of Ventanitas: A Window Into Miami's Coffee Culture. And, according to Otazo, moderator Mario Ariza promises to dress as a croqueta.
Because the panel is titled "Miami Legendary," it seemed fitting to ask Otazo, a born-and-reared local, to share his five most Miami things ever.
1. Books & Books
And not just because we happen to be sitting inside the bookstore — or because owner Mitch Kaplan walked by and shook Otazo's hand firmly. "I'm here literally every week," says the writer. "Books & Books is an institution. They have everything here. They have events, music, dancing, they have this café. They're, like, a civic and cultural leader here in Miami." As a bonus, you can buy Otazo's book there.
2. The Brickell drawbridge
There's nothing more Miami than traffic, and Brickell traffic takes the cake. "It's absolutely infuriating," a passionate Otazo declares. Reliving what appears to be a core memory, he continues, "You're stuck in this, like, opulent wasteland behind hundreds of infuriated drivers at like 9:30 in the morning just so some freakin' New England d-bag can sail his yacht into the bay."
"That's quintessential Miami: the worst traffic and the worst neighborhood."
3. The fishing pier off Key Biscayne
Many locals have fond memories of fishing off the pier. Many more still use the tiny slice with a view as a running spot. Every time Otazo goes for a run at the fishing pier, without fail, someone will yell over at him, "Hey, bro, you know you can't go to the other side, right?"He describes it as a bunch of strangers engaging in playful trash-talking banter that's like nowhere else in the world. "You have to be in the right mode in order to participate in this social connection that you don't find anywhere else."
4. Robert Is Here
After he utters the name, Otazo pauses, closing his eyes as if he's reliving a fresh milkshake moment. "Love that place. Love. That. Place," he says.
He opens his eyes. "It is just like the best shake I've ever had in my life. The place is full of just this hodgepodge of people from all over South Florida, and it's literally in the Everglades. So there are alligators everywhere, and there's a weird petting zoo with emus for some reason, and there's just like — it's a really weird collection of all sorts of random stuff and really awesome shakes. And really good fruit!"
5. Mangroves
Quite possibly, the most Miami thing nearest and dearest to Otazo's heart are the mangroves. "People forget that we're actually surrounded by nature. Miami is not a concrete jungle. It's a little sliver of concrete between the Everglades and the Bay and the Atlantic Ocean."
An outdoorsy Florida Man himself, Otazo frequents the Everglades and spends a great deal of his time in nature. He's known for having collected a bunch of trash in the Everglades and worn it on his back while completing the Miami Marathon. Twice.
"There's so much ecological diversity here in Miami, and people don't realize. It's up to us to advocate on behalf of these environments."
Miami Legendary. 2 p.m. Sunday, November 19, at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE Second Ave., Building 8, First Floor, Magic Screening Room, Miami; miamibookfair.com. General admission to the street fair costs $10, author talks are included.
