A little bit of Havana Ink

[El Presidente]

If Leo is open at 4am......there could be a little bit of trouble next FOH trip 

 

There are no licenses for tattoo parlors in Cuba. But they still exist.

by Doreen Hemlock

Cuba Trade Magazine 

http://www.cubatrademagazine.com/havana-tattoos/

Genco Genc never planned to get tattooed in Cuba until he happened upon a colorful store called La Marca, or The Mark. Unable to resist the price or the quality of the designs he saw, the 23-year-old Swede opted for a gladiator tattoo as a sleeve from his wrist to his elbow. The cost: About 600 CUC for work expected to take at least five hours – half what it would cost in his native country.

“It’s a memory from Cuba,” said Genc, who said he fell in fell in love with the island because of its history, people that make you feel like family, and because “you don’t have to worry about anything.”

La Marca is a body-art studio and gallery in Old Havana that has become popular among visitors, who often request tattoos of local scenes to carry back to their homelands as souvenirs. Among them are the limestone mountains of Viñales, the churches in colonial Trinidad, and the skyline of Havana.

The popular parlor was started two years ago by habanero Leo Canosa, who now works with five tattoo artists, including some who hang their designs in the gallery like paintings. Canosa bought the locale on Obrapia Street and runs it like an art studio, because technically, there’s no license for tattoo parlors in Cuba. He buys ink and other supplies abroad and keeps the strict sanitary standards he learned during extended stays in Canada. Most of his clients are tourists, who pay 50-150 CUC ($60–180) per hour for the body art.

For Canosa, the studio is a dream come true. A painter since childhood, he came across a book on Japanese body-art when he was 19 and longed for more information. At first, his family discouraged him, equating tattoos with delinquents. But over time, they too came to see tattoos as an art form. “I’ve tattooed my parents and grandparents,” said the 42-year-old Canosa proudly. “My uncle was a fine-arts painter, and I tattooed my grandmother with a version of one of my uncle’s paintings.”

To be sure, there are challenges running what some call Cuba’s first formal tattoo parlor. Canosa has to pick up supplies when he or his friends travel abroad, “so we can’t bring in much. There’s no shipping system for us to import, and we have no credit card. It’s difficult,” he said. “To tattoo in Cuba is a passion, not a business. We won’t get rich on this.”

To spread the word about tattoos as art, Canosa hosts cultural events at his air-conditioned space, including exhibits and concerts. The downstairs gallery offers soft music, local crafts, and a spiritual vibe. The upstairs hosts the immaculate tattoo studio. The team also works with neighborhood children, teaching them painting and taking them to art museums.

Still, Canosa looks forward to a day when tattoo parlors are explicitly licensed and fully accepted in Cuba. “Right now,” he said with a smile, “our tattoo studio is not legal and not illegal. ”

 

 

 Havana ink: Leo Canosa opened a private tattoo parlor in Havana, despite Cuba having no licenses for that type of business. Instead, he registered the parlor as an art studio, which is just one of several workarounds he uses to share his art with the world. (Cuba Trade Magazine) 

[Ken Gargett]

i remember talking to some of the girls about ink. most of them had some sort of tattoo, often small and as tasteful as tattoos are ever likely to be. they got them young and most said that they got them because everyone did it at the time and it was expected. so presumably there must have been a thriving tattooing industry for some time.

what was interesting was that almost all of the girls to whom i spoke said how much they now hated their tatts and how much they wished they had never done it. but that is from a few years back. no idea what the thoughts are now.

[El Presidente]

30 minutes ago, Ken Gargett said:

what was interesting was that almost all of the girls to whom i spoke said how much they now hated their tatts and how much they wished they had never done it. but that is from a few years back. no idea what the thoughts are now.

It would be great to find out. They would be be about 20 now. 

[Fuzz]

26 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

It would be great to find out. They would be be about 20 now. 

[semifan1]

Wait... How can anybody afford these?  I thought people were only making 10 CUC a month there.

[Colt45]

Great read.

But I really thought it was going to be a pic of RA's tramp stamp.

[TNT009]

52 minutes ago, sarkozy said:

I really don't understand why anyone in their right mind would want to have a tattoo. Historically, they were the preserve of sailors and members of the Russian mafia. Today you see many good looking people, particularly women, who have ruined their appearance with tattoos. Yuk!

Kinda harsh to drive your opinion onto everyone else.. Some like them and will get them.. Some don't like them and will abstain.

[semifan1]

1 hour ago, sarkozy said:

I really don't understand why anyone in their right mind would want to have a tattoo. Historically, they were the preserve of sailors and members of the Russian mafia. Today you see many good looking people, particularly women, who have ruined their appearance with tattoos. Yuk!

Stay off my lawn!!!!!

[Spanishcedar]

I have noticed that tattoos really don't have the stigma that former generations gave it.

I have a good friend with inked sleeves onto his hands and has ink that appears out onto his neck; interestingly enough, this friend of mine will be the owner of a multi-billion dollar crane company in just a few short years.

He does not regret the ink, he is very proud of it.

Things do change, these are artists and some people want art on a canvas and some people want to be the canvas.

[TNT009]

10 minutes ago, Spanishcedar said:

I have noticed that tattoos really don't have the stigma that former generations gave it.

I have a good friend with inked sleeves onto his hands and has ink that appears out onto his neck; interestingly enough, this friend of mine will be the owner of a multi-billion dollar crane company in just a few short years.

He does not regret the ink, he is very proud of it.

Things do change, these are artists and some people want art on a canvas and some people want to be the canvas.

Good point, just an expression of art. That's the good thing about getting a tattoo, you need to be at least 18, which means youre making an adult decision. Better thing to catch my attention than complaining about what someone does to their own body.

[clutch5150]

I think it's those porn stars who made the art famous! 

[PapaDisco]

1 hour ago, TNT009 said:

Good point, just an expression of art. That's the good thing about getting a tattoo, you need to be at least 18, which means youre making an adult decision. Better thing to catch my attention than complaining about what someone does to their own body.

That's the rationalization ("just an expression of art"), but from a pure, technique point of view, tattooing as an "art form" fails on just about every level.  The colors never, ever end up being what you intended (and only get worse with time), the purity of line very quickly degrades, and stylistically there's very little originality.  Although this last is something that could be solved, the technical problems of the form never have been solved.  Skin is just a lousy canvas, and it's our own minds that deceive us into thinking it's something beautiful.  Add to that the PC notion that you can only praise a tat, never criticize it and you get a self-reinforcing industry deluded into thinking it's fine art . . . not unlike the Graffiti craze in the '80's, except at least those colors had some purity and durability to them

[TNT009]

Don't know PapaD, mine have held up quite well over the ten years Ive had mine, even with all the pool swimming. The art comes from the designer/drawer and his skill level and I guess its buyer better do his/her research before getting something permanent. Originality, comes from the person requesting it, I haven't seen anyone in person with my African designs and Im asked about it frequently. Good thing with my two, if I don't want them shown, you'll never know I had them. I think criticism is cool, if both points are looked at respectfully.

[Randy956]

I really don't understand why anyone in their right mind would want to have a tattoo. Historically, they were the preserve of sailors and members of the Russian mafia. Today you see many good looking people, particularly women, who have ruined their appearance with tattoos. Yuk!

I happen to agree. I've seen very few tasteful tattoos.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Randy956]

Kinda harsh to drive your opinion onto everyone else.. Some like them and will get them.. Some don't like them and will abstain.

He was stating his opinion, not trying to change anyone's mind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[TNT009]

1 minute ago, Randy956 said:

He was stating his opinion, not trying to change anyone's mind.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I got what he was saying.

[Colt45]

7 hours ago, sarkozy said:

I really don't understand why anyone in their right mind would want to have a tattoo.  Yuk!

I wonder how many people feel the same way about cigars and the people who smoke them 

 

my ink is ultraviolet

it's only seen in private

with black light on my ink's on point

there's no way to deny it

[M82]

21 minutes ago, Colt45 said:

I wonder how many people feel the same way about cigars and the people who smoke them 

Perfect....  

[TheFullMontecristo]

anyone sporting an FOH tatoo yet?

c'mon, don't say the suited monkey wouldn't look good on someones upper arm lol.

[El Presidente]

7 hours ago, sarkozy said:

I really don't understand why anyone in their right mind would want to have a tattoo. Historically, they were the preserve of sailors and members of the Russian mafia. Today you see many good looking people, particularly women, who have ruined their appearance with tattoos. Yuk!

......with sincere apologies to the peoples of  Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia. 

[oakalley]

I have nothing against tattoos. Personally, I never had the desire to get one, but that's my personal preference. AFA the stigma, it is probably non existent today, or if it isn't the folks who are vocally opposed are not doing much speaking out in opposition. In my practice of Anesthesia for 40 years, I see a lot of "skin". Especially women in labor who are having an epidural for pain relief. Up until about 10 or so years ago, I hardly ever saw a tattoo on a woman, save for the occasional "tramp stamp". And while trying to not be judgmental, back then a lot of the women who had tattoos wee a bit on the sleezy side. Not all, but some. Over the past few years, the trend has completely reversed, and today, the woman without a tattoo is the exception rather than the rule. They are obviously totally acceptable as quite a lot of the young people  I see with body art are successful, college educated or at least folks with a good job. So from my perspective, there is  no real stigma today.

[Colt45]

47 minutes ago, El Presidente said:

......with sincere apologies to the peoples of  Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.

you forgot Amnesia.......

[Ken Gargett]

17 hours ago, El Presidente said:

It would be great to find out. They would be be about 20 now. 

morning pot,

from kettle

[Fuzz]

Just remember to heed the warnings and care instructions of your tattoo artist after getting some ink.

http://www.today.com/health/31-year-old-man-dies-after-swimming-fresh-tattoo-t112381

[kinglingcheng]

any one wanna get one on next Havana Festival