I have infiltrated the sacred ground of Mexican nerd "AKIBA Bill"

Akiba towering up in the electric town of Mexico City called "AKIBA", the so-called "AKIBA Building". There are pirated DVDs of Japanese animation ...... Young people who are playing with Yu-Gi-Oh ... .... Okonomiyaki ... ... and the spectacle of Japanese subculture blooming has spread.

Hello everyone.World newspaperIt is Matsuzaki Atsushi of. I am in the whole country around the world, I am currently in the city of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. This is a peaceful city where you can walk with peace of mind as well as the city of Mexico you have been traveling to so far.

Pink: Current location, Blue: stopover

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Well, this time I would like to report on the "AKIBA Building" that I wrote during my stay in the capital Mexico City. Coco was intense space in various ways.

Around this place is called AKIBA. Even if the scale is about one tenth of that of the original headquarters, the store density is considerable


An announcement of "AKIBA" from the street speaker.


I went on several occasions, but I always followed him with people


As far as AKIBA is concerned, electrical products related stores are crowded


All buildings are filled with electrical products related shops


Campaign that was on the street was a real beauty too big


Is it a repair shop? I took a picture and I was caught. I wonder if I am doing anything wrong.


Japanese products stand out


There are shops on the street as well


And finally I arrived at the AKIBA building. It is in the most crowded area of ​​AKIBA.

AKIBA building that it was built about six years ago. The locals are said to be "super-famous among Mexico City's otaku."


It is 4 stories high, the first floor is an electric shop


Climb the escalator in the middle of the first floor and go upstairs. Why did you jump into your eyes ......


Numerous shops dealing with Japanese anime goods




NARUTO was doing on TV. Subtitle is Spanish.


On the floor, two passers pass each other and finally a narrow aisle is drawn, and stores are lined up on both sides


Anime character doll made of paper


Many pirated DVD stores




Discover local cosplayer


Many kinds of figures are on sale






Mexican who enjoys the arcade game which is put at the shop front of the game shop


Is it some character?


His older brother of hairdresser


Such a scene is spreading from 2nd floor to 3rd floor. It is truly a magnificent sight. It's a strange feeling as if you forgot that Coco is Mexico.

DVDs sold, game software, music CDs are mostly pirated. The overwhelming majority of piracy related to Japan subcal is overwhelming has been a major problem for some time, but Mexico is quite terrible impression. Not limited to this building, the entrance of the subway station, the market, the streets around the station, etc. are truly sold everywhere. According to various surveys such as the OECD, the World Bank, the International Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mexico is not limited to DVDs and game software, it seems that Mexico can be counted as the four largest piracy worlds in the world. The data (JETRO survey) that 8 out of 10 music CDs sold in 2009 are pirated are telling it.

Pirated DVDs are sold approximately from 10 pesos (about 55 yen)


Japanese animation characters are also dynamically displayed on the guide display.


I also have DVDs of Japanese dramas


The Korean-style shop got interrupted by dusk


I also have Japanese sweets


Clothes shops as well


Main customers are men in their 20s to 30s


Everyone is nice.




He showed me his collection gently. I said "Solejamata" and left.


He was intense.


The appearance of a couple is also noticeable


If I moved around a lot, I am hungry. Let's take a rest at the snack corner on the third floor.

There are 3 to 4 shops dealing mainly Japanese food



Here Mexican people eat rice balls rather than tacos!


I will challenge Okonomiyaki (38 pesos = about 209 yen)


Inside!


It looks pretty ...


However, the source seems to be the source of Mac's Teriyaki burger. Mayonnaise also has a sour taste .... Give up in half.


Even manju in reworking


It is a colorful manju.


One piece 15 pesos (about 82 yen)


I ordered a Chinese style meat man with a voyeur when properly asked


There are lots of human signs from one corner of the third floor. I feel a strange feeling ... ....

There are roughly 50 people


A state of being absorbed in something


Yu-Gi-Oh's card at hand. Especially it seems that it is not an event, etc. but it is open to us every day.


There are girls too. Everybody got to know each other in this place.


A man looking seriously at the exhibited card. Some cards with a premier attached in some 200 pesos (about 1100 yen). The explanatory note written on the card was written in English.


I found the stairs to go up from the 3rd floor to the 4th floor, so when I climb it ......

Spacious space.


It looks like a game corner


A system that a store plays PlayStation or X-BOX software, and a customer pays one peso (about 5 yen) and plays


There is also an arcade fighting game. Street fighter series and The King of fighters are major.


Everyone is serious. There is a feeling that lever separation also got fallen.


There was also a game like a dance dance revolution


This time "AKIBA Building" is called, last timemaid CafeThere was a sense that Mexico had penetrated Japanese subcar more than imagined. I am happy as a Japanese, but it has been spread through pirated editions, and in fact it is sold spectacularly for just that ... ....

I left "AKIBA" with a complicated feeling.

(Sentence / picture: World Newspaper / Atsushi Matsuzaki
http://sekaishinbun.blog89.fc2.com/)