A lot of people knew Danny Meza as an incredible muralist, illustrator, and tattoo artist. He was a super cool dude, but I knew him as a geek like me. In our ongoing conversations since childhood, we talked about aspirations and insecurities, art and culture, love and pain, and the meaning of life.
Emilio “Danny” Meza was born on July 30, 1990, at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. Of proud Sinaloan heritage, Danny grew up with his sister in government housing on the Westside, raised by their mother, a strong, entrepreneurial, creative seamstress, Mariluz Meza.
Danny attended Harding Elementary, walking to school each day with his little sister, Bella, and their neighborhood friends. His teachers quickly recognized his artistic gifts and encouraged his creativity. His artwork was sought out by classmates, who would ask him to draw for them, from skateboard graphics like those of World Industries to anime-style illustrations such as Dragon Ball. His first art commission was sold to Pee-Wee. One of his earliest public works, a tile piece of a Pikachu painted in 2000, remains proudly on the bridge at campus.