Twenty-two-year-old Rafaela Ovido recently introduced something new to Guyana by channeling her passion for manga, anime, theatrical films and television into cosplay events for persons who want to express their fandom.
Ovido’s business is Seishonen Guyana. Seishonen is the Japanese word for youth but Ovido’s marketing coordinator, Juliana Lopes, 25, said their events cater for persons of any age. Their first event, Summer Festival, was held on July 24 at Bookland Gardens. The event brought together over 400 persons, according to Ovido, to explore their shared interests, which included cosplay, a blend of the words “costume play.”
Friendships and community building are some of the goals for the business start-up. “You see one friend group just meet other people from a specific anime and you see a friendship formed right there,” Ovido explains.
Ovido was passionate about anime since childhood and this has helped to shape some of her beliefs. “I love the story of friendship and overcoming whatever trials…You don’t have to be gifted or special to work hard or get what you want in life. That’s why I like Naruto,” she says, referring to the popular manga and anime series.
Already the cultural impact of Japanese media specifically has begun to birth Guyanese content and interesting cultural discourses.
On the latter front, Chris Bissessar, 22, the sponsorship coordinator for Seishonen Guyana, who is also an artist, is working on the light novel, River to the Sun, with a co-author, Kezyah Bhola. A light novel is a combination of illustrations and texts. The story focuses on an Indigenous girl named Itla as she takes a journey across Guyana to discover her identity. The novel will be launched at Seishonen Guyana’s first annual event, Fumicon, which will be held at Marriott, on November 27.
It’s an interesting parallel that the novel addresses issues of identity and Fumicon is now also being birthed to discover its identity. Chris says that a lot of “heart and soul” went into its creation and he hopes that it is received well. Ovido adds that the book is good because Indigenous people are usually put on the back-burner even though they are usually the first people around the world and the research was heavily taken from indigenous persons in Guyana.
The cultural discourse triggered by Seishonen Guyana’s Summer Festival was centred on gender expression. Ovido was excited to host a Maid Cafe at the event. The Maid Cafe is a cafe where waitresses are dressed in traditional maid costumes. Customers get to experience this event and these maids also usually sing and dance at the cafe. The event was a success because many people enjoyed it, according to Ovido. The event has also begun to show that young persons are abandoning ideas about how gender should be expressed. They got a man, Nick Hutson, to wear traditional maid attire. At the event, no one cared. But on social media, there was disapproval about his costume.
Fumicon will also be about expression for Lopes, who wit-nessed the developmental goals for Seishonen Guyana come alive at their Summer Festival. “It was great to see so many people come out and cosplay and establish these friendships and support different businesses that were there. Because at the Summer Festival we had 30 businesses. And it was really important for us to not only create that safe and entertaining space but to also have a space where commerce can happen,” she explained. Often at events artists are usually used for display and decoration, accord-ing to Lopes. She said that it made her proud that artists were not just props at their event but were able to garner sales. It’s not hard to imagine why the nature of a cosplay event would indeed garner more appreciation for artists, as cosplay is a form of artistic expression.
Seishonen Guyana has been organised by friends who wanted to create an energy that was not previously in our country. It was done through hard work and from Ovido’s excitement I know the continuous community building and growth of this community is special to her and the team. You can be a part of this community, and perhaps meet your crowd and geek out about your favorite anime, TV show or other interests. Follow Seishonen Guyana for more information on the upcoming Fumicon on Tik Tok (@seishinengy), Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Tickets for Fumicon can be uplifted at The Sach Store on 161 Waterloo Street and at Bad Monkey Merch at the Amazonia Mall and the Giftland Mall.
