First edition of Anicom Lara

New geek event in town

Edit in Canva & Photoshop

Anicom had already been held several times in the city of Acarigua, so there was a lot of anticipation in the local geek community, as this was the first time an edition was held in Barquisimeto. Anicom Lara had been promoted on social media for several months; the organizers were the same ones who organized Matsucon, so they already had experience organizing this type of event.

The event lasted only one day, was held on a Saturday, and was very well received from the moment it was announced. Many stores that had already participated in both Matsucon and Expo Comic were part of Anicom, with their booths and products for sale.

The venue is already well known to all the followers of the city's geek community: the fourth floor of the Twilight City shopping center, the same place where AMatsucon is held and where the last edition of Comic Expo took place, which will surely return next year in the same space.

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Anicom ya se había celebrado en varias ocasiones en la ciudad de Acarigua, por lo que había mucha expectación en la comunidad geek local, ya que era la primera vez que se celebraba una edición en Barquisimeto. Anicom Lara se había promocionado en redes sociales durante varios meses; los organizadores eran los mismos que organizaban Matsucon, así que ya tenían experiencia en la organización de este tipo de eventos.

El evento duró un solo día, se celebró un sábado y tuvo una gran acogida desde el momento de su anuncio. Muchas tiendas que ya habían participado tanto en Matsucon como en Expo Comic formaron parte de Anicom, con sus stands y productos a la venta.

El lugar ya es bien conocido por todos los seguidores de la comunidad geek de la ciudad: la cuarta planta del centro comercial Twilight City, el mismo lugar donde se celebra AMatsucon y donde tuvo lugar la última edición de la Comic Expo, que seguro que volverá el año que viene, en el mismo espacio.

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The stalls offered a wide variety of products, from posters and t-shirts to figurines and badges. Michael Jackson t-shirts were very popular, as was anything related to the King of Pop. There was also a stall selling the Panini World Cup sticker album, with all the stickers printed. It turns out that the official stickers are expensive if you buy them in a box, so many people have pirated the Panini album and printed all the stickers in high resolution. They were selling everything, including the album, for $30. Yes, pirating it is wrong, and the stickers aren't original, but some people don't care, and I assure you it's a product that sells very well.

There was also the "Paws of Love" stand, with puppies and kittens for anyone who wanted to adopt a pet. There was an area to buy food and drinks, although many people went down to the second floor of the mall to buy something. There's also a supermarket. For example, I needed to buy a soda. It was more expensive in the food court, and there was a huge line. It was better to go downstairs and buy it at the supermarket for less than a dollar. You have to look for the best deals in an economy like mine.

En los puestos había una gran variedad de productos. Desde láminas y camisetas hasta figuritas y chapas. Las camisetas de Michael Jackson eran muy populares, al igual que cualquier cosa relacionada con el Rey del Pop. También había un puesto que vendía el álbum de cromos Panini del Mundial, con todos los cromos impresos. Resulta que los cromos oficiales son caros si se compran en caja, así que mucha gente ha pirateado el álbum Panini e impreso todos los cromos en alta resolución. Lo vendían todo, incluido el álbum, por 30 dólares. Sí, piratearlo está mal, y los cromos no son originales, pero a algunos no les importa, y les aseguro que es un producto que se vende muy bien.

También estaba el puesto de "Patas de Amor", con cachorros y gatitos para quien quisiera adoptar una mascota. Había una zona para comprar comida y bebida, aunque mucha gente bajó al segundo piso del centro comercial para comprar algo. También hay un supermercado. Por ejemplo, yo necesitaba comprar un refresco. En el patio de comidas era más caro y había una fila enorme. Era mejor bajar y comprarlo en el supermercado por menos de un dólar. Hay que buscar las mejores ofertas en una economía como la de mi país.

Entry to Anicom Lara was completely free, and the first 300 people to arrive received a ticket for a PlayStation raffle. The event was very entertaining, with the usual trivia, contests, musical performances by groups with their choreography, and the Torres Music singing academy. Of course, many cosplayers presented new costumes to participate in the fashion show. This time, the Predator cosplay took first place.

During the event, the power went out, which led them to open the terraces so people could enjoy the fresh air. Due to the large turnout, I think they exceeded expectations. The entire community attended, and there were even more people. I was quite tired and had to go somewhere else, so I left around five in the afternoon, before the cosplay event started.

The event was great, and many are waiting for the announcement of the date for the second edition; hopefully, it will be this year.Entry to Anicom Lara was completely free, and the first 300 people to arrive received a ticket for a PlayStation raffle. The event was very entertaining, with the usual trivia, contests, musical performances by groups with their choreography, and the Torres Music singing academy. Of course, many cosplayers presented new costumes to participate in the fashion show. This time, the Predator cosplay took first place.

During the event, the power went out, which led them to open the terraces so people could enjoy the fresh air. Due to the large turnout, I think they exceeded expectations. The entire community attended, and there were even more people. I was quite tired and had to go somewhere else, so I left around five in the afternoon, before the cosplay event started.

The event was great, and many are waiting for the announcement of the date for the second edition; hopefully, it will be this year.

La entrada a Anicom Lara fue totalmente gratuita, y las primeras 300 personas en llegar recibieron un boleto para un sorteo de una PlayStation. El evento fue muy entretenido, con las típicas trivias, concursos, actuaciones musicales de grupos con sus coreografías y la academia de canto Torres Music. Por supuesto, muchos cosplayers presentaron nuevos disfraces para participar en el desfile de moda. Esta vez, el cosplay de Predator se llevó el primer lugar.

Durante el evento, se fue la luz, lo que provocó que abrieran las terrazas para que la gente pudiera disfrutar del aire libre. Debido a la gran afluencia, creo que superaron las expectativas. Toda la comunidad asistió, e incluso había más gente. Yo estaba bastante cansado y tenía que ir a otro sitio, así que me fui sobre las cinco de la tarde, antes de que empezara el evento de cosplay.

El evento estuvo genial, y muchos están esperando que anuncien la fecha de la segunda edición, ojalá que sea este año.

Photographs taken with mobile phone Tecno Neo 2 - Cover made with the Canva application - Gifs and separators made by me in photoshop