Pixelatl is not a corporate entity or a well-established and financially stable company. We are a small group of friends passionate about this project, and so far we have set it up and maintained it against all odds. Therefore, if you are attending the festival for the first time, it is important that you understand exactly what you are coming to.
First of all, this is not an event funded by government resources. The support we receive from various governments (which we are continually grateful for) covers only between five and ten percent of the festival's cost, and at best 20% in the most favorable year. Another portion of the cost is covered by the generosity of our sponsors and the purchase of passes by attendees.
However, if this event is possible, it is largely due to the generosity of our suppliers, who lower their costs (and sometimes even contribute financially), the Pixelatl team who in some years we simply cannot pay (or when we do, it is never complete and sometimes does not even cover our personal expenses for the event), and of course the volunteers who donate their time and skills to make the Festival happen.
It is important to mention this, especially if it’s your first time here, because this situation sometimes means that certain aspects of the festival may not meet the quality and standards we would like (and that we believe all attendees deserve). We apologize in advance for this. But it’s important to understand that by choosing to attend this festival, this is the reality you are “buying”: a collective effort that stretches the limited resources available to make things work as well as possible.
So, if there are so many deficits, what has made the festival such a great experience so far? The answer also lies in the generosity of the attendees: guests, delegates, participants in the Forum or the Fair or the cinema, the vast majority of whom have understood the conditions under which we have organized this project. What we offer is not just interesting talks or brilliant guests or perfect screenings, but a space where we have become a true creative community that now transcends the borders of Mexico.
Therefore, when we say that the festival is made by all of us, we mean it sincerely. We need your tolerance when we fall short, your patience when we take longer (or when the weather causes issues and compresses the spaces), and sometimes even your collaboration. In fact, we need your specific help in the following area: We try to encourage guests to walk around the fair and interact, as much as possible, with all attendees, but this doesn’t happen if they feel insecure because everyone around them wants an autograph or a selfie.
Remember, this is not a fan event. If we schedule autograph signings with some of the guests after their talks, or at another time in the fair, it is because they request it – as a way to interact with more people from a more controlled space. But in no way should you consider these – or demand them – as autograph signings typical of comic conventions. And if you happen to meet a guest at one of these “signing sessions” or at another moment, understand that they are a person like you, only in a very strange environment for them and probably very tired from greeting so many people. In other words: try to be understanding and reciprocate their generosity.
We also need your help to look out for each other. There is a security team at the Festival and several video cameras installed, but if we all act responsibly and look after one another, the atmosphere will remain as friendly as always, and guests will not only want to return but also do more with the talent they discover in Mexico.
Finally, as we expressed in one of our early manifestos, it is important for you to know that for us, the festival is above all a celebration – a celebration to recognize some of the best work in animation, video games, and comics being done (and that has been done) in Mexico and the world, but above all to re-recognize each other: what we are and what together we can become.
Because at the festival, above all, that’s what we celebrate: what we are when we come together.