Special Cancun- japanese 

urban tribes 

The otakus

In Cancun  there are several urban tribes but one of the most numerous and one that doesn’t respect age, social condition or religion is the otaku tribe.

The otakus are teenagers in the majority in a rage of 11 and 18 years (but also is very common to see otakus in the university and otakus that have teenager children) that adores the  anime and manga ( are cartoons and comics from japan) but they also worships japan and anything that this country could offers. The otaku dream about living in Japan and because that they learn to speak japanese, they also eat japanese food like sushi and ramen claming to  be on training for the day they could travel to japan.  

In Cancun the otakus wait all the year for a convention a place where a variety of specialized stores from all the country get together and they spend all their money in trading cards, anime shirts, japanese candies, anime dvd’s that in the majority result to be copys and all kind of anime merchandise. Otakus also enjoy to costume their self this is called “cosplay”. Cosplayers contest is one of the most waited events of the convention day, other events are karaoke and the conferences with the voice actors.

When a otaku is not wearing a costume in a convention they are also very easy to detect in a crowd, we could say there is an otaku in every mall, and every class room in this city. They all look very similar; they like to use cat faux ears, cat bells, dog chains, black T-shirts with anime images, jeans in their majority black, also they wear glasses and sneakers, they carry a backpack with all kind of stuff like mangas, cards, dvd’s, and stuff to draw because in a great part they wish to became a mangaka.  

Every one it´s free to be as  we want to and more because we are young  to express ourselfs, and  it´s very  important  to respect every way  of life and  behaviors ,  we have to think that  they are part  of our culture and they are the result of consumism and  the multiculturalism  and it´s a reality  here , and in many parts of the nation and also all over the world the  urban tribes are part of  us and make us reach in culture . 

By  : Danniela Manzanilla ,  Azael Náhuat  and   Andrea  Echegoyen