Interview with Maurício and Mônica
Maurício and Mônica Somenzari brothers are the winners of the
World Cosplay Summit, the biggest cosplay championship of the world. They were the first Brazilians to go to WCS and brought to Brazil the title for the first time.
Papo de Budega talked with the brothers about the trajectory until their arriving in Japan.
Tell a little about you: Which is yours preferred animes? When you started to think about cosplay?
Maurício – I´m a university student in Hotel Administration. I make Chinese lessons and I know 6 different languages. I started to make cosplay in 2002, after going to anime event I simply loved everything what involves cosplayers. In the following event I did a cosplay. My favorites animes are Sailor Moon, Angel Sanctuary and Rozen Maiden; but I confess that I prefer to make cosplay of games characters, as Final Fantasy and Tales of Symphonia.
Mônica - I study Design, Spanish and love sports. My preferred anime are Sailor Moon (classic phase). I started to make cosplay because my brother wanted to go in an event but he didn’t have a friend. He invited me and I suddenly was cosplay. My first cosplay was Athena, of the King of Fighters 2000.
Do you have chosen the 天使禁猟区 Angel Sanctuary’s characters Alexiel and Rosiel because you like them or because you think the clothes are pretty?
Maurício - I like so much Rosiel, he is character that I most identify. Beyond the style, I also think his clothes are very cool! I have made four versions of the character. And I chose that one for WCS, because I thought that could make a good performance a great impression!
Mônica – Because Alexie remembers me. And I liked her clothes either.
How much time the clothes take to bee finished?
Maurício - We had little time to make everything. The clothes had to be ready in two weeks or we wouldn’t participate on the first eliminatory. But we had approximately one month to make the details...
Do you thought since the beginning to making a pair? Or one of you started to make the cosplay first?
Maurício - I started first, but we are always very shy! I was to my first event with some friends, and then I fought to have courage and I make my first cosplay. We made ours first cosplay in pair in 2004: Tsukasa and BT characters of Hack//SIGN; we made other pairs, as the Final Fantasy IX villains Kuja and Beatrix, Trinity Blood’s Hughes de Watteau and Augusta Vladica and X-Men’s Noturno and Polaris.
Mônica - My brother started first. Since that we always try cosplays in pair.
Do you expected to arrive so far (literally)?
Maurício - Never, never! Cosplay was always a hobby for me. I never expected great results.
Mônica – No... Because I started to make cosplay and I was so shame...
Do you believed in victory in WCS?
Maurício - The biggest victory for me, was to go in Japan! I always said, "my biggest victory already happened. Now, I want to make a good performance and to contribute for a beautiful show".
Mônica - Well, absolute no. But I had hope (if we do no to believe in ourselves, why keep going? hehehe)...
It´s very difficult to make cosplay with brother/sister?
Maurício - Ahahaha, for me is more easy! As we live together, it’s easy to stay assaying until 2:00 a.m. We don’t have relationship problems either, everything is very simple.
Mônica - In ours case that I find that not (hehehe)!!! We fight... yes, but 5 minutes later already all right.
Do you had support of yours parents?
Maurício - We had and very! My family all mobilizes in help! In special my father and my mother; my father makes all accessory type, he’s very skillful and makes incredible accessories. My mother helps with hair and choreography too!
Mônica - We had much! Not only of parents, by my uncle, my grandmother, everybody...
Do you thinks about making double again or intends to make cosplays separate?
Maurício - I like more to make pairs, but sometimes we do not find two characters that combine with us in same series.
Mônica - Sure! But many times we have to make separate.
For Mônica - Some people in foruns say that you seem Fran Drescher of the Nanny series. Do you already thought or would like to make those characters?
Mônica - Hahahaha, my brother says that to me everyday he saw the photo on my college id...Well, some day I can make the Fran of Nanny sitcom. I like it so much!
Which was best and the worse moment of your trajectory?
Maurício - The worse moment...Was during cosplay confection of Alexiel and Rociel, EVERYTHING that could be wrong, in fact happend! Since the penalties for the wings that we didn’t found enough, a sewing machine that didn´t sew the cloth that we needed... (...) The worse one that we pass was to deal with the “unexpected ones”... Now, best... The best everything was the trip and the friendships that we made there!
Mônica - As my brother said, the worst moment was in the making of the cosplays, because everything went wrong! Another bad moment was coming back to Brazil and leave all the people and others cosplayers that we did friendship with...
Do you have some commentary for people whom desire to make cosplay or for people who disdain this activity?
Maurício - Well, if you want to start, you have all my support! Make cosplay for yourself and remember that is your bodies, the image that you are showing, do your better! If you don’t like cosplay, it’s indifferent. But please, only respect.
Mônica – If you want to make cosplay: choose a character you like and, if possible, makes with more people (group cosplay is cooler)! If you don´t like: I feel very sorry...
Thanks for Maurício, Mônica and Elisa Polonio (JBC) 
