Brazilian Gamers Aren’t Waiting for Hollywood. They’re Building Their Own Cons
A large group of young people are cosplaying as their favorite characters. Others are wearing T-shirts with similar motifs and bright, colorful hair. This scene is typical to many conventions around the globe, but here in São Paulo, it’s different. Many of the attendees are Black and brown Brazilians. Their slang and mannerisms demonstrate a collective pride in their communities, which also happen to be some of the most disenfranchised neighborhoods in the region.
This is from Perifacon, a growing convention started in 2019 devoted to geek and gamer culture in Brazil. The target audience of Perifacon are people from impoverished neighborhoods and favelas away from the more affluent areas in and around São Paulo.
The Brazilian Portuguese slang perifa derives from the word periferia, or “outskirts,” and is the language equivalent of “hood” or “ghetto.” Perifacon is nicknamed “the favela Comic Con” and exemplifies a future for Brazilian geek culture and its larger market.
The idea for Perifacon came from a group of seven Black youngsters hailing from the outskirts of the city: Andreza Delgado, Igor Nogueira, Mateus Ramos, Matheus Polito, Luíze Tavares, Gabrielly Oliveira, and Pedro Okuyama. Oliveira, Tavares, Nogueira, and Delgado represent it as partners, while the latter is responsible for managing the business of Perifacon.
“Looking back, I feel a lot of tenderness for creating Perifacon,” recalls Delgado in a phone interview with WIRED. “I feel the same way about my story, as I’ve always been a nerd, going to LAN houses, I’ve always read Turma da Mônica,” she says, referring to spaces where you can rent a computer by the hour and one of Brazil’s most popular comic books, also known as Monica’s Gang. She’s also read books “based on Ayrton Senna, because when people think about nerds, images of Marvel and DC are the first to come to mind. But the Brazilian titles are also very nerdy things.”
The 2023 year marked Perifacon’s third iteration, drawing 13,000 people on July 30 at the Centro de Formação Cultural Cidade Tiradentes, on the east side of the city known for its working-class roots. There was no entrance fee, and the event featured the participation of major brands like Netflix and Warner Bros.
