The twelfth annual Tattoo Fest in Oaxaca, Mexico, held August 21 & 22, 2010, provided an excellent opportunity for tattoo (tatuaje) and body piercing (perforación) aficionados in Oaxaca to source talented, trustworthy tattoo and body piercing artists – as well as designs from a plethora of photo albums and laptop slide shows.
Oaxaca de Juárez is the capital of the state of Oaxaca, located in Southern Mexico. The colonial city and central valleys are noted for craft villages, market towns, pre-Hispanic ruins, a vibrant art scene, and gastronomic excellence.
Tattoo Fest in Oaxaca, Mexico, Provided a Diversity of Options, And Live Music and Dance
Many of the approximately 30 vendors had come to Oaxaca from other parts of Mexico to participate. They converged on Oaxaca to not only do tattooing and body piercing, but also to sell a broad diversity of products, all of which were at least tangentially relating to the industry, including:
- Tattooing and body piercing equipment, supplies and related paraphernalia
- CDs, DVDs and posters all with alternative lifestyle themes (both Bob Marley and Alice Cooper live on in Oaxaca)
- Body piercing and other personal adornments, wrestling masks, and clothing custom-painted while-u-wait.
The event was much more than a sales opportunity for tattoo artists (tatuadores) and other retailers. It provided those in the business with a chance to exchange ideas, promote the tattoo business, and entertain the hundreds in attendance, all under one roof at the Salón Señorial located downtown across from Oaxaca's renowned Abastos Market.
In the course of the two day celebration of tattoos and other indicia of all that is today still considered counter-culture in Oaxaca, there was:
- Panel discussions and forums with themes including methods for advancing the reputation of this alternative art form in Oaxaca, part and parcel dealing with allaying health and safety concerns through the adoption of US-style norms
- Live entertainment including seven predominantly rock and reggae bands, as well as belly dancing and other forms of choreographed performances
- An outdoor makeshift restaurant serving up beer, soft drinks, and real barbecued hamburgers, so delicious that gringos in attendance must have been yearning, at least a bit, for a return to those good old burger and fry days back home
This was the first year that the event was dubbed Tattoo Fest; in previous years it was known as Expo Tatuaje. One of the festival's organizers, Kaireddyn (Kai) Orta, owner of Dermografics Tattoo Studio in downtown Oaxaca, readily acknowledged that the change in name was meant to attract more foreigners, and tempt their sense of self-expression.
Opportunity to Get a Tattoo was the Primary Reason to Attend Oaxaca’s Tattoo Fest
Roughly half of the hawkers in attendance were there to promote their studios, and do tattoos on the spot. Indeed a walk through the hall mid-afternoon on Sunday bore witness to the fact; at virtually every tattoo booth there was a tatuador working on a shoulder, arm, leg, back, buttock or breast.
For the fourth or fifth year running, Daniel (Tuna) Larios had come to Oaxaca from Mexico City for the event, this time accompanied by girlfriend and fellow tattoo artist Angélica (Angy) de la Mora. This was the first year that Daniel was able to boast that it was worth his while to come to Oaxaca from the nation’s capital. He turned a reasonable profit, doing six tattoos, while Angy did five.
While at perhaps a couple of the ten or more tattoo shops in Oaxaca one can get a tattoo for as little as 150 – 200 pesos, Kai controlled sales at the Tattoo Fest, to some extent, by setting a minimum fee of 400 pesos, still an extremely modest amount relative to prices charged for a tattoo in the US and Canada. “We want to maintain a level of quality at the event, and in fact throughout the city,” Kai explained. He continued: “I don’t think it can be done if our tatuadores are permitted to charge a rock bottom price. Without some standard, at least at the Tattoo Fest, each of our tatuadores can undercut one another. It’s not good for us, and it’s not good for our customers.”
Advice for Tourists Contemplating a Tattoo While Visiting Oaxaca, Mexico
Kai, Tuna and Angy are of like minds when it comes counseling travelers to Oaxaca who are contemplating getting a tattoo:
- Don’t rush; spend as long as required with the tattoo artist, chatting, looking at his or her designs, and examining the surroundings of the studio
- Ascertain if the tatuador has a particular specialty, or higher level of competency in one area versus another (i.e. color as opposed to black, specific designs)
- Address any health and safety concerns, since while the Secretaria de Salud (ministry of health) does have general laws, rules and regulations, and spot checks of tattoo studios are conducted, no specific regulatory body exists for policing the tattoo industry itself
- Notwithstanding the foregoing, the lion’s share of the tattoo artists in Oaxaca do follow American standards and regulations, members of the industry wanting to elevate the perception of their trade amongst the Oaxacan populace and further abroad, to more mainstream
- Look for instructions regarding how to care for a tattoo, starting with the moment after leaving the studio, to reduce and hopefully eliminate the chance of complications – either on a flyer or on the back of the business card of the tatuador
- Ask questions, questions and more questions until satisfied that both the process and the end result will meet or exceed expectations
Tattoo Studios in Oaxaca
The following is a list of contact particulars of four of the tattoo studios in Oaxaca and vicinity, each of which participated in the 2010 Oaxaca Tattoo Fest:
- Dermografics Tattoo Studio, 1a Calle de Crespo 106, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca; cel: 0449511198642 (Kai Orta)
- Estudio de Tatuajes Tom Cat, Aquiles Serdán 7, Centro, Huajuapan, Oaxaca; cel: 0449531064627
- Diseño Tatuajes, Calle Trujano 311, Int. 3, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca; cel: 0449515098918
- La Tinta Tattoo & Body Piercing, Av. Independencia 805, Int. 19, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca; Cel: 0449511859673 (Eder Hernández)
Alvin Starkman - Alvin Starkman runs Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast. He is a paid contributing writer for Mexico Today (http://www.mexicotoday.org).
