Kaisen Infinity Convention of Puerto Rico

Kaisen Infinity poster

The Kaisen Infinity convention was held this past Saturday May 7^th at the Fernando (Rube) Hernández coliseum in Gurabo, Puerto Rico. This is the main event of Paquines, a nonprofit organization of fans of comics, anime, science fiction and other hobbies on the island. (Paquines are the same people behind the Karibukai Animation Festival.) The main attractions of Kaisen (besides local retailers of fandom goodies) are the cosplay contests, gaming tournaments, model exhibits, live music, and fan skits.

Welcome to Nana Cafe

Kaisen attracts people of all ages and fandoms, although most of the cosplaying (and merchandise) I saw was inspired in anime.

This was the first time Kaisen was held in Gurabo, a town in the central eastern part of Puerto Rico. The relatively new coliseum was an ideal place for this event. It was spacious, fully air-conditioned, with ample parking and a great location. People came from all over the island to enjoy the festivities.

Some highlights of the day:

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  Furries represent!

  An impromptu dance based on the Caramelldansen meme everybody seemed to know and I had to look up later. A lion furry started it as a solo dance and people just jumped in behind him. It was definitely a great moment of the Con. Here is a video I found on YouTube.

• Nana Cafe, a new local maid cafe, offered food and entertainment. I look forward to their restaurant opening soon to see them in their element. They even danced during skits time after being crazy busy all day.
• The huge detailed World War II and Iraq War dioramas from Museo de Figuras y Dioramas. I did find the Nazi flag and cosplay jarring however.
• Rock band Back Seat Driver gave a crowd-pleasing performance.
• 

  Quickly helping Captain America

  Another local band present that I didn’t see perform but were lovely to chat with (in spite of their name!) was Death Arrangement.

• Being amused at the innocent/sexy feel of the anime cosplay and merchandise.
• The Flash and Captain America chasing each other around the coliseum. All those who were having fun with their outfits were also fun for us to watch.

I was part of the volunteer crew; it was great to talk with fellow genre fans while we attended our duties. A shout out to Paola of Hogwarts Puerto Rico, Aiko, Lavinia, Victor, Karlo, and Alchemist for your Japanese lessons and general camaraderie!

I posted my photos in a Facebook album. Also here’s a slide show with even more pictures- another YouTube find: