DUO
Tatiana: Hello, I’m known as Nameless Dreamer and I’m a 31 years old nerd girl that comes from your neighbor country Portugal. My background is in Science but I always loved arts and crafts, books and Japanese culture.
Catarina: Hi! I’m Mayushii, I’m 27 years old and I’m from Portugal. Always loved the Japanese culture and it would be a dream to some day go to Japan. I have a degree in Languages, Literatures and Cultures so I love travelling and meeting new people!
How did you discover cosplay and what made you start in this hobby? How long ago?
Tatiana: Back in the day I used to scroll through Portuguese anime blogs and I found a tab about cosplay. Found that cons and cosplaying, although in a super small scale, was a thing in Portugal and little did I know that would change my life completely. I’ve been cosplaying for 12 years now and entering in competitions for 9 years.
Catarina: I discovered cosplay because I always loved anime so I went to my very first town con and saw cosplayers for the first time, I went home and searched for it. I’ve been cosplaying for 11 years now, started entering competitions in 2014.
Why did you choose Spirited Away as your project for the ICL preselection? Is this your first time joining an international cosplay competition?
Tatiana Valada: We love Spirited Away and we already had everything prepared when the news that ICL was coming to Portugal were shared, so we thought “why not try the preselection?”. This is my 2nd time representing Portugal on an international competition, the 1st time I went solo on CWM contest.
Catarina: Ghibli has been really meaningful in my life, when I was a little girl my dad rented the Spirited Away movie, renting movies was a thing at the time, and I completely fell in love with that movie, I think I’ve watched 12 times, so for me choosing Spirited Away as a cosplay project was an absolute yes. It’s my first time joining an international contest.
What does cosplay mean for you? And what is your favorite part of the hobby?
Tatiana: Cosplay is an escape for my imagination and an excuse to put my inner crafter to work! Prop making is my favorite thing of all, along with making skits.
Catarina: For me, cosplay means being able to be whatever I want without fear of what others might think, to be my favorite characters and feeling confident about it, it’s an amazing hobby! I really love sewing, it’s challenging!
Were you selected before the pandemic? If so, how did it affect your motivation and project for the finale?Â
Tatiana e Catarina: We were selected before the pandemic and right away ideas for the finale came to our minds. We even started gathering materials and planning a lot of things. Although we didn’t change our plans, with covid the project was paused, hoping everything would come to normal. Everything was on hold for months on end (as well as other projects we wanted to finish) until an official announcement, which boosted our moral and made us start working really hard!
What do you expect from your visit to Spain? Is this your first time visiting the country?
Tatiana: I really like Spain. I’ve visited many parts of it before, even Madrid, but it was a working related trip so I didn’t explore the city as much as I would like.
Catarina: I love Spain! I think the places I loved the most were Sevilla and Santiago de Compostela because they have such an amazing cathedral and also Santiago pie, the taste is so good! I’m really excited to meet Madrid!
Have you decided your project for the finals in Madrid? Can you give us a clue?
Tatiana: Our project is from a beloved game series that happens “Somewhere beyond the sea”.
Catarina: Yes we already decided our project! My character has so many sisters you know…I’m just one of them.
Describe the cosplay community in your country using five words.
Tatiana & Catarina: Growing, Caring, Hard working, Helpful, Friendly
You can follow Nameless Dreamer and Mayushii on:
https://www.instagram.com/namelessdreamercos
https://www.twitch.tv/nameless__dreamer
https://www.instagram.com/_mayushii_/
https://www.twitch.tv/mayu_shii
SOLO
Hello, my name is Leonardo, I am 27 years old and I live in Portugal. I studied archeology although I do not practice it at the moment. I have a few hobbies that range from sports, music and most of all, cosplay. I even started a small business of prop makingÂ
How did you discover cosplay and what made you start in this hobby? How long ago?Â
While I studied I gained a huge fascination with armors and joining that with my childhood passion for games and anime, I decided to start creating my own pieces. This was the start of my adventure in cosplay. The first project I finished was in 2015 and since then i have not stoppedÂ
Why did you choose Warhammer 40k as your project for the ICL preselection? Is this your first time joining an international cosplay competition?Â
I decided with this project because I thought it would be an awesome challenge. The design was stunning and I thought it deserved to be brought to life!
This will be my second attend to an international competition. I was the Portuguese representative in C4 in 2019 alongside my Duo.
 What does cosplay mean for you? And what is your favorite part of the hobby?Â
When we are kids, we all dream to wear those beautiful dresses or use those awesome armors we see in the movies, games or cartoons/anime, and to be able to make that happen in incredible, besides being able to create something that other people and myself think its good is the most rewarding feeling ever. Â
For me, my favorite part is when I dress the costume for the first time and I look at the mirror. That feeling is indescribable. “I made this… I am proud of myself”.
Were you selected before the pandemic? If so, how did it affect your motivation and project for the finale?
Yes I was, and well, it was ok because I already had the cosplay mostly made and I could just focus on my other projects.
What do you expect from your visit to Spain? Is this your first time visiting the country?Â
I have been to Spain quite a few times and I always loved it, here in Portugal we always call you “nuestros hermanos” and for good reason, we are very similar so I look forward to explore Madrid and to meet lots of new people.
 Have you decided your project for the finals in Madrid? Can you give us a clue?Â
Well, I hope you guys like dragons and big swords.
Describe the cosplay community in your country using five words.Â
Rather new, but with potential.Â
You can follow Leonardo on:
https://www.instagram.com/leoworkstation/Â
Team Portugal was selected at Lisboa Games Week (November 2019).
