Hola ahí Jueces!

In this week’s edition our team caught up with a judge from a long and thin country somewhere in South America, Jorge Peñailillo L2 from Chile! Many judges consider this man “the Godfather” of the judge community in Chile and he has been a long standing fixture in local game stores for quite some time. He has done such an exceptional job that he was appointed as the TO for GP Santiago. Jorge is a prominent leader in his community, a great mentor, and a globetrotting judge. Don’t miss this interview from JotW featuring Jorge Peñailillo from Chile!

Why did you become a judge?
I decided to become a judge in the Chilean Magic community after watching the community fall on hard times, I knew that I could give my community better service by adding another judge to the pool. At the time we only had one L1 in the area, which was not nearly enough to support our community.

Location: Santiago de Chile
Judge start date:L1 Nov 26, 2000 and L2 on August 26, 2001.
Occupation: Proud owner of  LA FORJA DE STONE.
Favorite card: Rancor and Flight (5th Edition), the one that has a zebra on it ( it has a huge personal and sentimental value)
Least favorite card: Cyclopean mummy
Favorite format: Limited
Commander General: I don’t play Commander, but If I had a general, it would be some random Dragon!
Favorite non-Magic Game: RPGs! I like D&D, but I haven’t played it in a while.
Best tournament result:

• 2nd Place in an old National Qualifier ( in La Serena, Chile)
• In a PRO-TOUR, along with Andreas jepsen we went 4-1-0 then….
  [expand title=”click here to keep reading”]Drop, of course, it was a 2HG side event (limited Zendikar). We had to get into our shift :D![/expand]

Random fact about yourself:
My degree is in Marine Biology, but I have only really ever had a career with Magic!

I started Judging in 2000; it was then I promised myself that I’d give my best to improve the Latin American Magic community! I’ve experienced and enjoyed several aspects of the game; I’ve been a collector, a retail worker, a Judge for almost 14 years, a TO, a player since 1996, and I worked as Manager/Director of Organized Play La Forja De Stone.  My collection includes a play-set of almost every card created since 4th Edition/Revised. My collection took a hit however last year when I had to sell some to gather money for GP Santiago. As for retail, I was store owner and I worked for Devir Chile (a large shop in my area) for several years. As a TO I’ve ran more than 2000 events, 548 of which were from last year in my store alone! For almost for 10 years now, my entire life has been Magic!

Tell us your favorite judge story.
In June 2000, I was reading a local newspaper and it had an article saying that the next day the Latin-American Championship would be held in Santiago de Chile. I made a snap decision and took an 8-hours bus ride to the event and asked for my judge certification.

I arrived morning of the event and took a “pre-test” to see if I was up to snuff.  I passed the test, got my shirt, and was put on the staff! It was my first event ever, and it left me with an amazing experience, compensation of 9 boosters packs, and 3 foil Judge cards ( Balduvian Horde, Stroke of Genius, and Gaea’s Cradle). Sadly, that evening, I didn’t pass my L1 exam, that was however the start of my journey to being a Judge.

Another fun judge story is the time I got lost for almost 2 hours in Kyoto. I was trying to get to the Judge Dinner. Apparently there was a miscommunication with taxi driver. he ended up leaving me in a completely different place! Thankfully, I managed to get in touch with my fellow judges and find the place.

Tell us an embarrassing story that you’re not afraid of everyone knowing.
In one of my first events as a Judge I allowed a player to tap a land enchanted with two Squirrel Nests and get 2 squirrel tokens from it! Well, at least that is what the other judges from Chile say, however I actually don’t remember that =p. True or not, that provided us with a lot of fun for a long long time :*D.

How has being a judge influenced your non-Magic life?
Thanks to Magic, I’ve traveled to a lot of countries, met a lot of people, and made strong and lasting friendships, also I’ve improved my English and computer skills!

What motivates you to continue being a judge?
People and travels, but mainly the people!

If you could chat with one person, real or fictional, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
I’d love to have a chat with my sister; she died when she was child. It would be amazing to have grown up with her.

What would you be doing now if Magic no longer existed?
I consider myself an entrepreneur so I would own my own business or businesses.

What character in Magic (real or fictional) represents you the best, and why?
I don’t know so much about the Magic characters, but I’d stick with Gerrard, Urza, Karn, and the Weatherlight!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I am thankful for the recognition, and invite to all my Judge fellows to apply for GP Santiago 2014 when the application window is open.  I’d be glad to see you there, it will be an awesome experience!

Two Truths and a Lie
Two of the following statements about Jorge are true, and one is false. Figure out which!

1.- I am 40 years old.
2.- I was Organized Play Manager for Latin America.
3.- I have judged in more than 100 cities in the world.

[expand title=”The answer to our most recent Two Truths and a Lie…”] Manuel’s accidentally stolen girlfriend and he only dated for 9 months, breaking up before he finished his studies. Moral of the story: be careful who you ask out![/expand]

Thanks Jorge for all your hard work in the Chilean Magic community!

 Written  by Nemesio Bolanos Gutierrez and Alaric Stein