Preview image taken by Andree Dark
I saw Ana’s Harley Quinn Cosplay on reddit and fell in love with the costume. She made some interesting choices on that cosplay that deserves a lot of accolades. She is a 90s child too, so bonus points for that! Enjoy!
You can find her FB here
Andy: What was the first Convention you ever attended? What was a lasting memory from that Convention?
Ana Bertola: My first convention was at a cinema, I attended with with my brother and sister. It was great, we spend the day watching anime we never seen before and a Detective Conan movie! It was fun, so I started to attend every month
A: What was your first cosplay? What did you learn from doing that first cosplay? What inspired you to make that first costume?
Ana: My first cosplay was Miaka from Fushigi Yugi, I really love that anime/manga. At that time I was watching the anime and the convention I used to attend made a Fushigi yugi’s theme edition. So everybody was invited to go in a Fushigi yugi costume. Me and my friends dressed up. I choose Miaka because she is the heroine of the story, she is silly most of the time, but really passionate and loyal.
I learn how to sew, it was my first big project, all handmade by me. It wasn’t perfect but it was really fun to made and wear.
A: Your Harley Quinn cosplay is amazing, tell me about the process of making or buying that costume. Why did you choose to cosplay Harley Quinn? Why do you think so many cosplayers cosplay as her? What part of Harley’s character to you identify with?
Ana: I love Batman, that’s why I choose Harley. I’m a big fan of the animation series but at that time I was looking for a challenge. I choose to make the Arkham asylum Harley because it was different of everything I did before. I made it in a week, did a lot of research from the game, trying to get the right proportions, it was hard because of the materials I use for the cosplay but I think I ended up making a good work. It’s my favorite cosplay so far!
Harley is popular because she is a character full of energy! Sexy, crazy, passionate, funny, it’s just fun to act like her.
I think I like that she is madly in love and definitely I like her energy, she is always at something. You are never bored with her.
A: You were featured in an advertisement Technopolis in Argentina, how did it feel to be chosen for something like that?
Ana: It was great!! I think the best thing is that Technopolis is open to everybody, it’s free and has many attractions. So most of the people that attended had never seen or even know what cosplay was before it and they didn’t know that we had conventions in Argentina. It was good to promote cosplay and having the opportunity to reach new people. I hope we reached new anime/comic/games fans and they start cosplaying too!
A: You also cosplay as Bulma from Dragonball, Why do you like her out of the cast of Dragonball and Dragonball Z. Thoughts on the live action version? What are some other 90’s Animes you love?
Ana: It’s my favorite female character from Dragon Ball, she is strong, independent, brave and smart. But she is also fun and of course she have great outfits. To be honest, I still didn’t watch the live action… Hahaha I’m afraid of it!!!
90s anime are my favorites: dragon ball, sailor moon, evangelion, escaflowne, fushigi yugi, Macross 7, magic knight rayearth, card captor sakura, digimon, and more !!
A: You featured on League of Extraordinary Cosplayers for your Emma Frost? Why did you choose to cosplay Emma over Jean? When you look at that costume, why do you think it turned out as well as it did? Emma is definitely a woman who uses her sexuality as an advantage in the comics, do you think that is a positive or negative thing?
Ana: First of all I’m really honored to featured as Emma, between so many great and sexy Cosplayers! I choose Emma over Jean because she is more badass and I have a thing for blonde hair characters. It was really difficult to make, because I don’t see myself as her (physically) so I needed to brake some taboos to do it. Most of the people also sees me as a cute girl, so it meant a risk to show them another part of me. I think it’s a good thing to be able to explore new directions with Cosplay and I’m really happy that people support my decision of making all type of characters.
There’s a lot of people (male and female) that uses sexuality to take advantages of situations, I don’t do that but I can’t judge people for doing it. I believe that had work should be able to open doors for you in life and that it’s more important to have knowledge and skills to offer than the way you look.
A: What is something you think sets apart Latin America conventions from the rest of the World?
Ana: I’ve never went to a convention outside Latin America so I can’t compare it. But I can say that we put lot of passion on what we do. Conventions growth a lot in the past years, you can find international guest, local artists, shows, really good photographers, cosplay contest (also international cosplay contest), videogames areas, and more.
A: Facebook has created more exposure for the cosplay scene and in a way mainstreamed the cosplay community, do you feel like the “mainstreaming of cosplay” is a step in the right direction?
Ana: It’s a difficult question. Sure mainstreaming bring a lot of good stuff, like to be able to reach more people and to be able see and know more. But with great power comes great responsibility, I think it’s a duty for all Cosplayers to show and promote the good things of cosplay (hard work, craftsmanship, having fun in the process, being a good competitor, being polite, inspire new cosplayers, between other things).
Another positive thing is to be able to make a living of cosplay, some people see this as a negative thing but it’s a dream job for most of Cosplayers. Here in Argentina, it’s just starting but we have a long way to go. My actual work is making cosplay for other people and designing costumes, I also worked as a model for a videogames company, it would be great to keep on working and growing as a cosplayer. And that doesn’t mean stop having fun, Cosplay is always fun!
A: What Conventions will you be at in 2014? Do you plan on coming to an American Convention soon?
Ana: Right now I’m working on my costume for the Yamato Cosplay Cup, I’ll be traveling to Brazil in July to compete in the international finals. I’m really proud of be representing my country and I’m looking forward to meet all the Cosplayers from the competition, it will be an amazing experience for sure. Also Reika is going as a guest judge so I’m looking forward to meet her.
I have plans to travel to other conventions but I can’t reveal it now. I would love to go travel to an American Convention but right now it’s really expensive to me, but I hope to have the opportunity soon.
Photo by: Otaku No Baires