Latinx Heritage in Horror Month 2024: An Interview with Alberto Ávila Salazar

What inspired you to start writing?

I could tell you that every time I write I start from scratch, it’s like a leap into the void. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. I wish I could tell you about an epiphany or a moment of enlightenment, but that wasn’t the case. It’s something that’s always been with me.

Tell us about your work in 25 words or less.

I’m often identified as a horror author, but I just try to capture the world as I see it. This probably doesn’t say anything good about my worldview.

What was it about the horror genre that drew you to it?

I think the act of writing is a way of dealing with ghosts, whatever genre you choose. In any case, I’m not sure that a writer has the freedom to choose his themes. I would say that themes attract him like an inexorable destiny.

Do you make a conscious effort to include LatinX characters and/or themes in your writing and if so, what do you want to portray?

I don’t make any special effort, but I am a very local writer (My novel Lo que dicen los dioses – What the Gods Say– is a very clear example, the main plot is impossible to move outside Madrid). Apart from giving my readers chills, I want them to feel transported to a complex and realistic world. The most honest thing I can do is show the universes I know, in my case it is a Spanish universe.

What has writing horror taught you about the world and yourself?

It has taught me to contemplate abysses, to confront fear, to unravel the meaning of things, and feel the texture of darkness.

How have you seen the horror genre change over the years? And how do you think it will continue to evolve?

Genres survive because they have the ability to adapt and transform, and horror is no exception. I believe the genre will naturally expand, offering new cultural and technological perspectives and opening itself to new influences. I think there is still a lot of work to be done.

Time to daydream: what are some aspects of LatinX history or culture – stories from your childhood, historical events, etc — that you really want our genre to tackle? (Whether or not you’re the one to tackle them!)

I can speak with authority about the case of Spain. We are colonized by American and British horror. I assure you that the forests and mountains of the north of this country are full of Lovecraftian entities that scream in Spanish; Our cities are constantly generating new stories and legends; Spanish reality is a sinister factory of new ways of feeling fear.

Spain has a tragicomic tradition that is barely observed in our contemporary literature. It is as if we had turned our backs on ourselves. There is still hope, there are writers who are doing a great job and who work with the primary clay of a Spanish genre; although it can almost always be classified as folk horror. My bet is on the urban horror, on political panic, or identity subjected to uncertainty.

Who are some of your favorite LatinX characters in horror?

I think that this great character is probably being written right now. Latin horror has the possibility of changing the rules of the game, it offers a different, marginal, and peripheral view. Although there is no recognizable movement (beyond the linguistic and geographical scope) much more complex visions are being forged. This horror is not going to escape social and political issues, and it is destined to be something different.

Who are some LatinX horror authors you recommend our audience check out?

The list is very long, among the classics no one should miss Las leyendas (The Legends) by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer or the short stories by Horacio Quiroga. Or delve into the sophisticated fantasy of Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortázar. The books by Alvaro Cunqueiro and Wenceslao Fernández Flórez is not very well known outside Spain and some of them are amazing.

Among the contemporary authors I am interested in the work of Mariana Enríquez, Mónica Ojeda, María Fernanda Ampuero or Marjorie Eljach. I also recommend Spanish authors such as Pilar Pedraza, Juan Ramón Biedma, Carlos M. Pla, Germán Sierra… These lists are unfair, I am sure I would answer you differently at another time, these are the authors that come to mind now.

What is one piece of advice you would give horror authors today?

I don’t like giving advice, but I’m going to make an exception: I would recommend that they read all kinds of genres: thrillers, philosophy, botany, economy, politics, romance… For a horror writer, it is an unforgivable mistake to read only horror.

What is one piece of craft advice you’ve gotten that has really worked for you? Alternatively, what’s one that you’ve happily rejected?

“Literature is slow and requires a process.” My first editor told me that and I don’t know if he was right, but it worked for me. In general, I think you should listen to the advice you are given, but that doesn’t mean you have to put it into practice. Be responsible and own your mistakes.

And to the LatinX writers out there who are just getting started, what advice would you give them?

Open your eyes, read, do not have saints or gods, do not be afraid, make noise, disturb… Above all (even if the world does not want you) there have to be new voices.

Alberto Ávila Salazar (born May 27, 1975) is a Spanish horror writer and translator. His writings are rooted in several literary genres but prominently weird fiction and occultism. He was born in Madrid, and currently resides in Santiago de Compostela. He is the author of several fiction books, including the award-winning Todo lo que se ve (All That Is Seen), La mitad de un monstruo (Half a Monster), Lo que dicen los dioses (What the Gods Say) and the anthology of short stories Conversación de soldados (Conversation of Soldiers). He has written essays such as El diablo en casa. El caso Vallecas (The Devil in the House. The Vallecas File), Metraje perdido. Un breviario de cine invisible (Lost Footage. A Breviary of Invisible Cinema), Batman y Joker. Duelo en Gotham con Marjorie Eljach (Batman and Joker. Duel in Gotham), and Grimorio del Triángulo Negro (Grimoire of the Black Triangle), among many others. He has translated authors such as Thomas Ligotti, Arthur Machen, Austin Osman Spare, John Buchan, Stanley J. Weyman, Edna Fox, and Fiona Macleod. (Photographed by Laura Munoz Hermida.)