The University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) is the place to be this weekend, with two days of academic discussion of popular culture at the Chardón Building, followed by the celebration of the second WestCon Anime Expo.
The weekend’s festivities will begin with the “II Annual Popular Culture Conference: From Person to Persona: Exploring Transformative Identity in Authors, Characters, and Individuals” which will take place from April 1 – 2 from 9 am to around 7 pm on both days. It will be filled with talks, screenings, and roundtable discussions, all of which aim to bring participants together both intellectually and professionally. The conference’s keynote speaker, Steven “Bonafide” Rojas, will present himself on the second day at the Figueroa Chapel at 10 am.
Gabriel Romaguera, chair and coordinator of the event, emphasized how this activity is an “interdisciplinary, bilingual conference, that has students, professors, and graduate students coming together from all over the island and abroad as part of Pop Culture Week.” As an activity done by students for students, he hopes this conference will help universities and the academia alike to recognize the importance pop culture has in all of our lives. Ana Marrero, a student who is lending a helpful hand in coordinating the event, expressed her excitement about it and hopes that many a person joins and enjoys the conference to its fullest extent.
Rounding out the weekend’s activities, the WestCon Anime Expo will await fans at the Coliseo Rafael A. Mangual on Sunday starting at 10 am. The entrance fee will be of $5, and cosplayers are sure to take advantage of the opportunity to dress up as their favorite pop culture characters from television, anime, movies, and more! Don’t miss out!
Check out the full schedule for the conference here. The entrance fee will be $10.