Frank
Larrua, the best tattooist in the Havana suburb of Guanabacoa, is
perhaps the «master». That’s the way area people and many of his
«pupils» call him. He began this trade through some friends. With
them he learned the basics and for some time devoted himself to
making tattoos. Currently, he doesn’t create them anymore; he
prefers to concentrate on painting over other surfaces, which are
not precisely the skin, and on developing a creative work that leads
him along fascinating and less dangerous paths.
However, the prestige won by this young
man of medium height and hasty speech —who entered in the world of
tattoos using a needle attached to a tape recorder motor, and later
with professional equipment— causes many people to still look for
him and speak about his skills, despite his having quit the trade.
«Especially in the summer, many people
come, mainly adolescents and youths. At this time of the year it is
more difficult to maintain sanitary conditions or the final quality
of the tattoo. Still, most people prefer it,» said the renowned
ex-tattooist speaking to JR.
In a meeting in his house, which we were
led to by his popularity, he recalled the days when people came to
see him to have the most varied tattoos created on their shoulders,
arms, backs, chests... And he spoke about the importance of
sterilizing everything, from the needles to the water for cleaning
the designs.
«Meeting the sanitary measures is
essential for preventing mild infections and death-threatening
diseases, such as the HIV. The materials used need to be disposable
and, of course, one needs to use gloves, and it is ideal to wear a
surgical mask to prevent the punctures from being infected.
«There aren’t professional tattooists in
Cuba. They have experienced a boom since the 1990s, benefiting from
reduced prejudice. India ink is the most used here. It is not the
ideal, but it has organic components and the risk is less. Besides,
that’s the one they can find.
«The price ranges between $5 and $20,
depending on the tattooist, the drawing’s size and the colors. The
people who get tattoos the mostly between 15 and 30 years old, »
said Frank, who graduated from painting at the San Alejandro School.
A PARADE OF COLORS AND SHAPES
In Regla, we found Felix Solano,
considered to be one of Havana’s greatest tattooists. «I love
painting. One day, it occurred to me to devote myself to tattooing
people and I’ve been doing that ever since. What I know I learned
from friends. The price ranges between $10 and $35 CUC. I have even
made up to ten tattoos a day, but always with adults. If someone
younger than 18 wants to have one done, he/she has to come with
their parents,» he told JR.
Standing a few minutes at any corner of
Casablanca (a bayside village across the harbor from Havana proper)
one will see a parade of tattoos of different sizes, colors and
shapes, and on different parts of the body — all made by Felix.
«I take all the necessary precautions.
Things are going bad. There are a bunch of diseases everywhere and I
don’t want any of my clients to get infected. That way one also
gains fame in this world; it’s worthless to make the best tattoos,
if you don’t take sanitary measures into account.
«The ink I use is made of vegetable
pigment. Beginners usually use India ink, but it can be rejected by
some human bodies. Most of the people who come here like tribal
designs, on their backs and arms. They also ask me to paint abstract
shapes, the name of someone they love, or mythological forms or
demons on them. Women prefer to get tattoos on the lower part of
their backs, almost on the butt, and on the legs, near the foot,» he
said.
There are many «experts» who like Felix
have opened their own business in municipalities such as Old Havana,
Playa, Cerro and East Havana because tattoos have become a fashion,
even in a country like this where there aren’t professionals
authorized to create them.
Motivated by a trend that has won
supporters in the Western world, adolescents and young people have
the most varied drawings applied on their shoulders, hands, necks
and ankles. Some of them do it to be in «fashion» or just to imitate
others (models; movie, television and sports stars). Others do it to
call other people’s attention or because they think it is an
alternative life style, an act of independence and rebelliousness, a
symbol of eroticism... Or just, a way to «experience something new».
Mayris selected a small moon to decorate
her skin. «I wanted to be on fashion and I decided to go there with
my mother. She had one made on her too; in fact, I accompanied her
to have a tribal design applied on her to hide the scare left by an
operation. We both witnessed the process of needle selection and
piercing,» she said.
Alejandro, one of this 17-years-old
girl’s friends, has two lions with intertwined tails on his back. «I
know about the risk of having a tattoo performed on your skin, but I
dared to do it because I really wanted it. First of all I tried to
learn about the sanitary conditions.»
Differently form Mayris, who had her
mother’s approval, Alejandro and Olivia —a 19 years-old girl who has
a rose on one shoulder because «it is in fashion»— didn’t get the
support of their parents, nor did she tell them beforehand. «They
almost suffered a stroke, but as nothing can be done to fix it, they
have gotten accustomed to it, » they said.
Ernesto Alejandro (24 years-old) wants
to have a peace symbol tattooed on him as soon as possible, as a way
to achieve internal harmony. «I will provide the needles myself;
besides, I have the support of my family,» he said. And Ivan (15
years-old) is longing to have a Che image on his back, but he hasn’t
decided himself yet because he knows about the risks of using a
poorly sterilized needle.
On the other hand, Maria Carla (17
years-old) has never thought of having a tattoo. «Not even dead!»,
she said, interpreting the question as an insult. «I think they’re
ugly. The people who have tattoos drawn on their skin are not happy
with their beauty, and are looking for what they cannot find in
themselves.»
Patricia (20 years-old) doesn’t want to
have one of these engravings on her body either. «People have
tattoos performed on their skins because it is in fashion or just
because they let others influence them.». And Talia (18) doesn’t do
it because she thinks that it could become a problem if she wants to
take it off one day.
For one reason or the other, the truth
is that tattoos have won supporters in modern societies. Even many
of the people who show no interest in having them assure that they
like them, but they don’t dare to have one placed on their skin due
to prejudices, because tattoos are still looked down upon in most
Cuban homes.
TATTOO STATS
It seemed at first blush that this
practice was experienced by the majority of people in Cuba; however,
an investigation carried out by the Center of Youth Studies (CESJ)
demonstrated that despite its acceptance —mainly by 14-19 year-old
adolescents— the number of people getting tattoos has declined.
«This situation is conditioned mainly by
the permanent character of the engravings, the risk that these
represent to health, and the persistence of prejudices, stigmas and
other external factors that limit their use,» explained Aramilka
Jimenez, the author of the study that included 494 people between
the 14 and 29 living in cities across the country.
The specialist asserts that even though
46.4 percent of those interviewed likes designs on bodies, only 25.9
had any on themselves. But this result could be influenced by the
fact that some of the youths who are inclined to this are not
allowed to do so, lack the money to pay for the «work», or simply
that their pleasure comes from seeing the drawings on other people’s
bodies.
«Co-existing social pressures should not
be discounted, nor the influence of early tattoo-wearers in Cuba
(who were often marginal individuals, prisoners, prostitutes and
sailors), which created prejudices and stigmas that persist in
society and probably impact some youth by preventing them from
becoming tattooed,» noted Aramilka Jimenez.
Males are more likely to get tattooed
(71.6 percent of those interviewed). «Villa Clara turned out to be
the area where this practice is most liked (58.6 percent), while in
Santiago de Cuba there is less of a preference for engravings in the
skin (42.2) and a greater rejection of those drawings (56.6).
The investigation evidenced that only
21.4 percent of the people studied in Villa Clara Province wore a
tattoo. This was followed by those from Camaguey, those from the
capital, and lastly those from the eastern province of Santiago
(10.1 percent).
It was also shown that the greater the
age, the less the charm for the drawings in the skin, as well as the
number of subjects with longings to be tattooed. The inquiry also
demonstrated the existence of a basic knowledge of tattoos among
Cuban youth.
TATOOING WITH CARE
It is obvious that the person who gets a
tattoo runs the risk of getting an infection, because the skin is an
organ that has, among its main functions, that of serving as a
barrier of defense for our body, and a tattoo is a piercing wound.
«They are made by penetrating the skin
with a needle and injecting ink. But not in the epidermis (the upper
layer of the skin that we continue producing and which changes
throughout all our life) but in the dermis, which is deeper,»
explained Dr. Ada Belkis Castile, a general practitioner doctor from
the Havana suburb of Regla.
«The pigment that is used acts like a
foreign substance to the organism and can produce an allergic type
reaction. And if you already suffer from a cutaneous condition, such
as eczema, it is possible that breaking out will result. There also
exists the possibility of contracting viral infections, such as
hepatitis or HIV-AIDS, or severe irritation.»
«The parts of the body of greatest risk
are basically the genital and surrounding areas, due to the
characteristics of the skin in those places, the proximity to mucous
and the possibility of acquiring an infection by contact with body
fluids,» the doctor highlighted.
As for the long term dermatological
consequences «if a tattoo doesn’t heal appropriately, it creates
scars, or can cause keloids (excessive growth of scar tissue in the
area of the wound). This is not to mention that some people decide
later on to remove their tattoo, which leaves a mark,» noted the
specialist.
«Many tattoos are made without the
minimum antiseptic norms. The utensils used should be totally
sterile and this is only achieved with disposable materials —which
are often not affordable by those who do this— or through the use of
instruments sterilized in hot, high-pressure autoclave devices.
«It is important to make sure that the
place selected for such work is sanitary and that all involved have
been vaccinated, especially against hepatitis and tetanus. If the
individual getting the tattoo has a health problem, like a coronary
condition, cutaneous illnesses, allergies, diabetes, or is pregnant,
they should ask their family doctor what precautions to take.
In coclusion, we are still left asking
whether this is art in the skin that Cuban tattooists are making, or
are they simply trying to profit from the drawings? These are
questions for which a response is still pending.
