Our Story
“Mahal,” in the Filipino language means love, dear, or expensive. In the 1920s, the United States’ love and power over magic was white, male, hostile and expensive. These barriers were overt and systematic towards people of color and especially women. Unfortunately, these barriers have remained in place for many, many years.
100 years later, it is the roaring 20’s again, with a return of mysticism and moving pictures as public fascinations. The future of mainstream magic is being transformed, starting here, with Decolonized Tarot.
This deck is a journey into other worlds, a line to the ancestors, an alternative to Western European fantasy of magic and divination.
Creators
Maritess Zurbano
I am the only Filipina-American professional magician in history (as of 2021!), practicing for almost 30 years. My consistent magic/hypnosis/fortune telling gigs have been mainly for international corporate events. In March 2020, my one-woman play, “Make Maritess Zurbano Disappear” debuted. Previous workshops were produced at Ars Nova NYC, and The International Fringe Festival NYC, with dramaturgy from the New York Public Theater. In both my corporate and artistic work, I challenge the traditional racist master narrative against Asians and Asian-Americans. I’m developing a graphic novel, a children's picture book, and my magic memoir.
Cathleen Abalos
Cathleen is a visual development artist and illustrator in Los Angeles. She works in both digital and traditional media, specializing in background and character design, as well as comics and storyboarding. Her art style is a little bit whimsical, and she uses color and lighting to effectively portray the emotion of a piece. Her artwork is constantly inspired by moments in her life or by the world around her.
She has worked for clients such as Upper Deck / Marvel Comics, Visual Communications and the Los Angeles Pan Pacific Film Festival, Lethal Chicken Games, the city of Old Town Pasadena, Oh Rio! Productions, and the Ronald McDonald House Charities. Her artwork has been featured in the Torrance Art Museum, the San Diego Art Institute, and numerous galleries in the Southern California region. She also co-published the children’s book, “It’s Sandcastle Building Day”.
When she’s not working on projects, she is exhibiting her work at comic conventions throughout the country (some of which include San Diego Comic-Con, C2E2, Salt Lake City Comic Con, and New York Comic Con). Her work has also been exhibited in galleries and museums in the southern California region.
Some of Cathleen’s current projects include concept and character design work for the 2D animated film “What We’re Meant For”, a YA fantasy graphic novel based on a filipino magician, and the webcomic series “Herowood Boulevard”.
Angelique De Castro
Charlotte Smith