Cosplay makes a march

The parade is part of the ALIAS Entertainment Expo (AEX) convention this year, entitled The Apocalypse. The three part event started last Friday and ran until yesterdayat the Centre of Excellence, Macoya where doors opened at 9 am.

Speaking at the seminar, Director of AEX, Josette James, said, “Cosplay is a mixture of the words ‘costume’ and ‘play’ and it’s basically dressing up as your favourite character. The convention is getting bigger every year and all our tickets were sold out.” Present at the seminar was international cosplayer Yaya Han, who said she was “so happy” to be at the seminar.

She added that it is her first time in Trinidad and Tobago and that she “can’t wait” to partake in the convention. Richard Hayworth, voice actor for the anime character Kenshin Himura from Japanese manga series Samurai X, said he was “very excited” to be a part of the convention and that he was “looking forward to meeting people and answering their questions.” Trinidad and Tobago’s first cosplayer, Natalia Henry, said the art of Cosplay has “grown a lot” in the country. “When I started doing it, everybody was looking at me like the crazy girl that I was. I faced the world of ridicule,” Henry said. She added that Cosplay has been in the country for the past 17 years and said she had her start in the practice when she decided to dress up as Kenshin Himura at anime convention Anime City.