That time that I bought a cheap bag of expired hamburger buns to pretend they were 'arepas' since one of the only scenes Camilo has is disguising himself as Dolores to get more food.
Photos: Adris Creations Photography
So, a video came up on my FYP on TikTok that boils down to a user getting pissy because a white woman cosplayed as Dolores. I already commented on that video, but I can't really express in full detail everything that's wrong with that video in one comment. Now, I'm Latina myself, not afro-Latina, but still Latina nonetheless, and anyone who follows me on here or TikTok knows that I don't have a problem with anyone cosplaying as the characters. I love that the movie had such an influence on people, especially children, that they want to dress up as the characters.
I had a friend that was also accused of "whitewashing" on TikTok because of an Encanto cosplay about a year or so ago, so it's clear people see this as an issue. I watched the video that was being targeted in full, and I did not see a single issue with her cosplay. She did not use makeup to make her skin look darker (which would have been a completely different story if that was the case). That would be blackface, which is offensive as fuck. That is something that should be criticized, but that was not the case. She did not attempt to darken her skin, and she did not try to adjust her features to make her look "more afro-Latina."
The second thing is that I've seen the phrase "Cosplay is for Everyone" in regards to cosplayers of color portraying any character they want. I one hundred percent agree with this. No matter what you look like, what your race or ethnicity is, you should be able to cosplay as whoever you want. BUT "cosplay is for everyone" means EVERYONE. This is not some stage production with a whole production team behind it or a party princess company that needs the person to look like the character for a little kid's birthday party. This is someone show saw a character she liked and wanted to cosplay as her for herself. You can't pick and choose which characters certain people should and shouldn't cosplay as.
Obviously, this is different when it comes to art. I completely agree that whitewashing the characters in fanart is a problem and there are millions of references, even 2D references for the character's skin colors and features. I'm no artist; I can't draw certain features for my life and my coloring looks super flat, which is why I don't draw these characters all that often. But when it comes to cosplay, it's really a non-issue.
Cosplay is supposed to be fun, and seeing people like this makes cosplay less fun. I've seen a lot of people quit cosplay because of people like this and it genuinely makes me sad. I really don't like seeing people quitting something that they once loved because endless harassment made a detriment on their mental health that they had no other choice. So please, just stop
Since the first time I watched Encanto I decided I would cosplay her soon or later! These pics are from June, but I wanted to posted them here. Encanto became a comfort film, as well as Mirabel a comfort cosplay for me.