The Confessions of a Cosplay Girl Blog continues its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15th-October 15th) by placing the spotlight on several active cosplayers of Hispanic descent. Each talented and creative cosplayer spoke about their passion for the hobby. We also tackled important topics such as racism and how Hispanics are portrayed in comics and in the media. Check out the interviews as well as photos of their stunning work below! To find out more about Hispanic Heritage Month, CLICK HERE.
Name: Ivy
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Costumes: Catwoman, Black Cat, Jill Valentine, Lara Croft, Wonder Woman, Hawk Girl, Princess Leia, Draculaura, Vampirella, Zatanna, Caitlyn, Ash Ketch, Zulu, Redwing, Steampunk Mermaid, Queen of Hearts, Alice, Liesel Vanhelseng, Machiko ( female predator), Blondie from Sucker Punch, Satanico Pandemonium and The Other Mother.
Social Media Accounts: www.fb.com/Ivettecosplay
Instagram: @ivycosplay
Deviant Art: ivy95.deviantart.com
Conventions You Have Attended: MegaCon, DragonCon, Conjure, Fanboy Expo, Tampa Comic Con, Spooky Empire.
Instagram: @ivycosplay
Deviant Art: ivy95.deviantart.com
Conventions You Have Attended: MegaCon, DragonCon, Conjure, Fanboy Expo, Tampa Comic Con, Spooky Empire.
How does it feel to be one of the leading ladies in cosplay of Hispanic Heritage? It feels great to be Hispanic and to accomplish so much in so short time. I feel that Im showing to all our women out there that what ever you decided to do in your life, never give up, as long as it is for good. You should work for it and always give 100% no less than that and that goes for all the male Cosplayers too.
What advice would you give other Latinas who are looking into getting in the hobby? Have fun, be creative, use all your imagination and you will be able to accomplish big things if you dont give up.
Do you have any costumes you are currently working on?Jun The Swan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Evil Queen Jacky
Ethnicity: Cuban American
Ethnicity: Cuban American
Costumes: Regina the Evil Queen from Once Upon aATime, Various Disney Princesses, Various Once Upon a Time characters, Marvel characters, DC characters, Silver Screen actresses, video game characters, TV characters, Horror, Terminator and Sci-Fi, Tomb Raider, Lisa from Weird Science and many more to come.
Conventions: Megacon, Wizard World (various), Spooky Empire, Awesomecon, Nekocon, Baltimore Comic-Con, Supercon and many small local cons.
Favorite cosplay: Regina the Evil Queen (Once Upon a Time)
Have you ever felt reluctant to costume a certain character because of your ethnicity?Not really, Ive always been pretty confident in the characters I cosplay. Ive always seen cosplay as something you do for fun, for yourself, so who you choose to cosplay is entirely up to your comfort zone.
What words of advice would you give other Hispanic Cosplayers when it comes to costume choices and possibly facing racism on the internet or convention circuit? Ive fortunately never experienced any racism in the cosplay community, and for that I am grateful. However, I have been discriminated against in other ways not associated to my latin heritage and the only advice I have for that is a bit straight forward and blunt - Grow tougher skin! People will ALWAYS try to bring you down, whether its race, culture, religion, weight, age, life choices, the list goes on and on. The moment you start caring about what others think and/or say, is the moment youve willingly placed your life and happiness in others hands. Take charge of YOUR life!
Do you have a favorite character of Hispanic Descent?I absolutely LOVE Pedro Sanchez from Napoleon Dynamite! Yes, I know its incredibly cliche, but not only is it one of my favorite movies, but he is definitely my favorite Latin character. Vote for Pedro!
Social Media Accounts:Instagram: @EvilQueenJacky
Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/evilqueenjacky
Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/evilqueenjacky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Tiffany Cruz aka Sky
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican
Social Media: Facebook - Sky Cosplay
Instagram: @Sky_Cosplay
Costumes: Batwoman, Catwoman, Kitana, Esmeralda , Miss Harley Quinn, Rainbow, Dash Pikachu.
Instagram: @Sky_Cosplay
Costumes: Batwoman, Catwoman, Kitana, Esmeralda , Miss Harley Quinn, Rainbow, Dash Pikachu.
Conventions: Zenkaikon, The Greater Philadelphia Comic-Con, J1-Con, Wizard World Philadelphia, Monster Mania, Retro Con, New York Comic Con and Steampunk Worlds Fair.
What are your thoughts on how Latinas are protrayed in media (movies, comics, cartoons and television)? My thoughts are I think we need more of them. I think its great, because it shows the art, the beauty, and the love for the characters.
Would you personally like to see more Hispanic characters in media? Yes, I will you love to see more Hispanic characters! Its about time we see more of them. It would show the culture some spotlight. I mean we already characters like Bane, Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes), Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), The Question (Renee Montoya), and more. But it will be nice to see one as the main person in their own story.
What would you say was your best convention experience? Best convention experience was going to New York Comic-Con for the first time with my boyfriend. I knew this con was big, but I wasnt ready for how epic it was. I mean it took us 10 minutes to get past the doors because people just kept asking for our pictures. It was my first time doing Harley Quinn and my boyfriend was the Joker, everyone loved our costumes. Nothing cant beat that, because it was the first time me and my boyfriend cosplayed together. And now that all we do, going to conventions together, and never growing up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Name: Agent Paradox (Geneva)
Ethnicity: Puerto Rican & Sicilian
Costumes: Baroness (Hail Cobra!), Imperial Officer (Hail the Empire!), Ezio (Assassins Creed 2), Garrett (Thief), Elizabeth (Bioshock Infinite), Snow White, and a few others Im sure I am missing.
Social Media Accounts: Facebook: www.facebook.com/paradoxical.illusion
Instagram: @AgentParadox
Instagram: @AgentParadox
Conventions You Have Attended: SDCC, Comikaze, Wizard World, BigWow, Wondercon and a few others.
Have you personally seen the hobby of costuming grow within the Hispanic Community? Absolutely! The diversity is a wonderful change. It is so great to see many more from the community getting into cosplay.
Do you find yourself more drawn to characters of Hispanic descent to costume or is it irrelevant what nationality the character is? To me it is pretty irrelevant. I tend to just cosplay characters I love and have a connection to regardless of their race.
Would you personally like to see more Hispanic characters in comic books and sci-fi? I would love to see more in all genres of geek culture.
Name: Han Pan
Ethnicity: Mixed, but mostly Puerto Rican
Costumes: Lots of Harley Quinn from Batman, the Wasp from the Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes, Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Sailor Moon, Dagger from Final Fantasy IX, Oerba dia Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII, and more.
Social Media Accounts: http://www.facebook.com/hanpanthecosplayer My new Facebook page!
Conventions You Have Attended: I routinely attend MAGfest, Katsucon, Awesomecon, Baltimore Comic Con, and AnimeUSA.
We have been friends for several years and I recall people referring to you as white girl". They are obviously oblivious to the fact that Hispanics come in many beautiful colors. How does that make you feel to be referred to that way? What is their reaction when you inform people that you are Puerto Rican? Shock. In some cases, shock and horror. At one point in my life, I very vividly recall having a legitimate argument with a girl who insisted there was no way in hell I was Hispanic and that I was an awful person and a liar for saying that I was. I also have a lot of people who are confused that I dont speak Spanish, and I have to explain to them what being Hispanic in a small town in the 50s does to an immigrant. My father speaks very little Spanish, but it was all learned in secret; his father would have been livid had he found out.
What are your thoughts on how Hispanics in general are represented in the media? For the most part I find it degrading. There are few out there in popular media to begin with, and they tend to be portrayed poorly. Gang members, morons, unable to communicate, unable to work, illegal, etc. Its frustrating. Unless you look at Telemundo or the few Hispanic pop culture figures (Gabriel Iglesias, J.Lo to some extent, Matt Peña...I asked my movie/actor buff boyfriend and he spent five minutes to come up with two) who are generally portrayed positively, there really isnt much out there. But Hispanics are some of the hardest working people I know as a whole, and their dedication to their family and to their work is unparalleled. Im extremely proud to call myself Latina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ethnicity: Mixed, but mostly Puerto Rican
Costumes: Lots of Harley Quinn from Batman, the Wasp from the Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes, Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Equestria Girls, Sailor Moon, Dagger from Final Fantasy IX, Oerba dia Vanille from Final Fantasy XIII, and more.
Social Media Accounts: http://www.facebook.com/hanpanthecosplayer My new Facebook page!
Conventions You Have Attended: I routinely attend MAGfest, Katsucon, Awesomecon, Baltimore Comic Con, and AnimeUSA.
We have been friends for several years and I recall people referring to you as white girl". They are obviously oblivious to the fact that Hispanics come in many beautiful colors. How does that make you feel to be referred to that way? What is their reaction when you inform people that you are Puerto Rican? Shock. In some cases, shock and horror. At one point in my life, I very vividly recall having a legitimate argument with a girl who insisted there was no way in hell I was Hispanic and that I was an awful person and a liar for saying that I was. I also have a lot of people who are confused that I dont speak Spanish, and I have to explain to them what being Hispanic in a small town in the 50s does to an immigrant. My father speaks very little Spanish, but it was all learned in secret; his father would have been livid had he found out.
What are your thoughts on how Hispanics in general are represented in the media? For the most part I find it degrading. There are few out there in popular media to begin with, and they tend to be portrayed poorly. Gang members, morons, unable to communicate, unable to work, illegal, etc. Its frustrating. Unless you look at Telemundo or the few Hispanic pop culture figures (Gabriel Iglesias, J.Lo to some extent, Matt Peña...I asked my movie/actor buff boyfriend and he spent five minutes to come up with two) who are generally portrayed positively, there really isnt much out there. But Hispanics are some of the hardest working people I know as a whole, and their dedication to their family and to their work is unparalleled. Im extremely proud to call myself Latina.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Visit me on my Official Facebook Page.
Unfortunately I spent only about an hour at Fridays show due to transportation and traffic delays. I dressed up as Sydney Savage and had the opportunity to take pictures with J. Scott Campbell along with Ally as Abbey Chase. Mr. Campbell was very nice, posed for a fun picture and said he liked our costumes. I was also asked by an employee to pose at the Kotobukiya booth for their website. My photographer and I stopped by the Legendary Entertainment booth where we received free promotional t-shirts and a necklace lanyard. We ran into some friends and I also received my new Huntress costume (the mask would be delivered Saturday). That night we attended a private party where we had dinner with friends. I retired early that evening because of a sinus headache I had throughout the day. 
On Saturday morning I had to make a run to Kmart to purchase a black sports bra for Huntress. The mask was delivered by my friends Carlos Blanchard and Courtney Rose of Rage Custom Creations (Rage Custom Creations is also responsible for the entire Huntress ensemble). The crowds were massive on Saturday, so much so that it was rather upsetting. It was nearly impossible to stop and enjoy anything on the showroom floor. The crowds consistently knocked and pushed people over. Cosplayers were blocking entrances and exits to pose for photos and we couldnt find Artist Alley. We ended up leaving the show and returned to our hotel room to recharge. In all honesty we were debating on weither we should return at all. The crowds were San Diego crazy in terms of chaos. After catching up with Candy and Brema of Three Muses Clothing in the lobby of our hotel, we decided to make another try for it. With map in hand, we found Artist Alley and ended up having a ball. We spent time with several friends including Dustin Dorough of Hospital Heroes and Iggy Cosplay. I also got to see amazing artist and friend Billy Tucci , legend George Perez and met Young Justice Comic artist Christopher Jones. I was delighted to be asked for a photo by a gentleman who introduced himself as Joe Staton, the original costume designer for Huntress! He complimented my costume and my portrayal of the character. I was stopped at the Kotobukiya booth once again and was asked to pose with their Huntress statue. Saturday ended at the con with a quick shoot with Adam Jay of Superhero Photography. That evening Brian and I had some New York pizza with Candy and Brema and we all headed to Times Square for some fun at Toys R Us and the Disney Store.
Sunday was another day to debut a new costume that was sponsored by a friend; Snow White. I was really excited about this one because I had conquered my fear of facing racist criticism. I have seen comments online during my six years of cosplay where people have criticized me simply because I am Hispanic. Race isnt an issue for me when it comes to choosing characters I want to portray and it angers me when someone says I cant do something because of the color of my skin. When selecting Snow White as my next character, I knew that it may cause attacks from people best described as racists. At first I was troubled but it soon melted away. I will not allow anyone to ruin my hobby of costuming and I certainly dont care about the opinions of those who cant see past the color of my skin. They can shove their racist complaints up their big, fat hairy butts for all I care. On Sunday we took an Archery Lesson courtesy of the Tomb Raider team and took a photo with a life sized Alien courtesy of Sega. We took a tour of Artist Alley where I had a nice chat with artist Jamie Tyndall and was asked to pose with the Middle Eastern Magazine Amor. We ran into friend and artist Eric Basaldua and caught up with some friends before we had to return to the hotel and make our way back home. 
The show started out rough with all of the traffic delays getting to New York City and arriving extremely late. Factor in the massive aggressive crowds along with the other stresses of convention life such as wardrobe malfunctions and drama, and it can add up to a pretty miserable experience. Im happy to report that things indeed took a turn for the better and we ended up having a lovely time. Most of that is because of the wonderful people I have the privilege of calling my friends. I am undecided if I want to attend next years show. As I stated in my DragonCon report, Im weary of the big industry shows and favor events such as DragonCon, MegaCon and Wizard World Philadelphia. My last show for the year will be a local one in November. After that, I am unsure as to what shows I shall attend in 2013 (although DragonCon and Wizard World Philly is most likely a definite, yes). 
