Lalo Aguayo still remembers the shock of seeing his uncle leave prison decades ago with a green arm. He was 13 at the time and asked his mother about it.
"My mother told me he had a skin illness," said Aguayo, who is known as Daruma to his friends.
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Lalo Aguayo still remembers the shock of seeing his uncle leave prison decades ago with a green arm. He was 13 at the time and asked his mother about it.
"It looked green because the inks were not like they are today," Daruma said.
Daruma works with a half-dozen tattoo artists on the second floor of an old building in Mexico City's colonial core. The buzzing of needles mixes with rock music and the chatter of clients, many of whom lie in awkward positions as they have designs permanently etched onto their bodies.
"Years ago, people did look at you badly," said Fakundo, 42. But now there's more acceptance, he said, proudly showing off his perforated nose and ears as well as his tattooed eyeballs.
Laura Reyes, who studies Polynesian dance, was getting the hibiscus flower tattooed on her leg.
In this April 18, 2019 photo, tattoo artists Lalo Aguayo, left, Lalo Calva, center, and Emanuel Arana, work on clients Laura Reyes, Adrian Alonso Rodriguez and Jonathan Brannan, at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. The buzzing of needles mixes with rock music and the chatter of clients, many of whom lie in awkward positions as they have designs permanently etched onto their bodies. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this Sept. 5, 2018 photo, tattoo artists Lalo Calva and Marco Arana work on a tattoo that will be inked on the back of Gabriela Irigoyen Aguilar, at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Irigoyen Aguilar already has several tattoos in remembrance of her deceased mother. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 18, 2019 photo, a client shows his leg tattoo of Kaliman at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Kaliman was a radio and comic book super hero popular in Latin America during the 1970s. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 15, 2019 photo, Liz Ruiz has the tattoo of a tiger inked on her arm at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. "Every animal has a meaning but when you find the most beautiful animal in the world, his beauty, strength, royalty and freedom, you will understand the significance behind the tiger tattoo." Ruiz said. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 15, 2019 photo, Liz Ruiz has the tattoo of a tiger inked on her arm at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. "Every animal has a meaning but when you find the most beautiful animal in the world, his beauty, strength, royalty and freedom, you will understand the significance behind the tiger tattoo." Ruiz said. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this Sept. 6, 2018 photo, tattoo artist known as Enrique inks the image of the train known as "La Bestia," on the arm of a migrant from El Salvador, in Mexico City. The migrant said he wanted to memorialize one of his many trips on the train that took him from the Mexico – Guatemala border all the way north. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this Sept. 6, 2018 photo, tattoo artist known as Enrique inks the image of the train known as "La Bestia" on the arm of a migrant from El Salvador, in Mexico City. The migrant wanted to memorialize one of his many trips on the train that took him from the Mexico – Guatemala border all the way north. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 22, 2019 photo, tattoo artist Ricardo Medina shows his tattoos of Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, at a tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Like most tattoo artists, Medina inks his own skin. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
But he soon learned that it was actually a sleeve of tattoos.
In this April 18, 2019 photo, Ariel Guzmán, also known as tattoo artist Fakundo, performs a split tongue body modification on a client at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Guzman is an expert at splitting tongues, piercings and other forms of body modification. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
"It looked green because the inks were not like they are today," Daruma said.
It is not only inks and techniques that have changed in Mexico over the years. Tattoos themselves have evolved from stigmatized symbols of gangs, violence and poverty to an art form, a transformation not unlike what has taken place in much of the rest of the world.
A publicist, painter and muralist, the 35-year-old Daruma began working as a tattoo artist a few years ago at the encouragement of a friend who saw his drawings and showed him how to use and calibrate tattoo machines. His body is now a catalog of over 40 images, the first of which he got at 13 shortly after seeing his uncle's arm.
In this April 18, 2019 photo, Ariel Guzmán, also known as tattoo artist Fakundo, shows his tattooed eyeballs, his split and green tattooed tongue, pierced ears and nose, as well as several of his head tattoos at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. According to Guzman, Mexicans no longer are prejudiced against people sporting tattoos. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
Daruma works with a half-dozen tattoo artists on the second floor of an old building in Mexico City's colonial core. The buzzing of needles mixes with rock music and the chatter of clients, many of whom lie in awkward positions as they have designs permanently etched onto their bodies.
Some come to have their entire back covered in ink, others for a piercing or to have their tongue forked.
Ariel Guzmán, who's known to everyone as Fakundo, is one of Daruma's co-workers. With 75% of his body covered in tattoos, he's also focused on perforations and body modifications. His own tongue is split in two and reptilian green.
In this Sept. 5, 2018 photo, Lalo Aguayo tattoos an image of Clint Eastwood from the Good the Bad and Ugly movie by Sergio Leone, at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Aguayo, now 35, a public relations specialist and muralist, said a friend convinced him to turn some of his drawings into tattoos. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
"Years ago, people did look at you badly," said Fakundo, 42. But now there's more acceptance, he said, proudly showing off his perforated nose and ears as well as his tattooed eyeballs.
"It doesn't affect your vision," he added quickly, as if anticipating the question.
Fakundo attributes the success of the tattoo parlor to its strict hygiene practices, the artistry of those working there and the fact that Mexicans are familiar with ink.
In this April 18, 2019 photo, tattoo artist Lalo Aguayo cleans a tattoo of a hibiscus flower on the leg of Laura Reyes, a dance student, at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. “It hurts a lot but it’s worth it,” she said. “For me, having a tattoo is like taking on a painting and carrying it everywhere. It’s art.” (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
Laura Reyes, who studies Polynesian dance, was getting the hibiscus flower tattooed on her leg.
"It hurts a lot but it's worth it," she said. "For me, having a tattoo is like taking on a painting and carrying it everywhere. It's art."
In this Sept. 5, 2018 photo, Gabriela Irigoyen Aguilar shows the sketch of the tattoo of a traditional Japanese mask she plans to have inked on her back at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. In Mexico, tattoos have evolved from stigmatized symbols of gangs, violence and poverty to an art form, a transformation not unlike what has taken place in much of the rest of the world. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 18, 2019 photo, tattoo artists Lalo Aguayo, left, Lalo Calva, center, and Emanuel Arana, work on clients Laura Reyes, Adrian Alonso Rodriguez and Jonathan Brannan, at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. The buzzing of needles mixes with rock music and the chatter of clients, many of whom lie in awkward positions as they have designs permanently etched onto their bodies. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this Sept. 5, 2018 photo, tattoo artists Lalo Calva and Marco Arana work on a tattoo that will be inked on the back of Gabriela Irigoyen Aguilar, at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Irigoyen Aguilar already has several tattoos in remembrance of her deceased mother. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 18, 2019 photo, a client shows his leg tattoo of Kaliman at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Kaliman was a radio and comic book super hero popular in Latin America during the 1970s. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 15, 2019 photo, Liz Ruiz has the tattoo of a tiger inked on her arm at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. "Every animal has a meaning but when you find the most beautiful animal in the world, his beauty, strength, royalty and freedom, you will understand the significance behind the tiger tattoo." Ruiz said. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 15, 2019 photo, Liz Ruiz has the tattoo of a tiger inked on her arm at the Corona Tattoo parlor in Mexico City. "Every animal has a meaning but when you find the most beautiful animal in the world, his beauty, strength, royalty and freedom, you will understand the significance behind the tiger tattoo." Ruiz said. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this Sept. 6, 2018 photo, tattoo artist known as Enrique inks the image of the train known as "La Bestia," on the arm of a migrant from El Salvador, in Mexico City. The migrant said he wanted to memorialize one of his many trips on the train that took him from the Mexico – Guatemala border all the way north. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this Sept. 6, 2018 photo, tattoo artist known as Enrique inks the image of the train known as "La Bestia" on the arm of a migrant from El Salvador, in Mexico City. The migrant wanted to memorialize one of his many trips on the train that took him from the Mexico – Guatemala border all the way north. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)
In this April 22, 2019 photo, tattoo artist Ricardo Medina shows his tattoos of Brazilian soccer star Ronaldinho, at a tattoo parlor in Mexico City. Like most tattoo artists, Medina inks his own skin. (AP PhotoMarco Ugarte)