BIO

I started as a self-taught tattoo artist in a room of my house, like many…

In the beginning I’d spend hours watching videos, practicing with plantains, fake skin, and eventually, with the human canvas. Little by little I started getting better gear, which translated into better lines, therefore, better tats. During this time, I had just finished my Bachelors of Arts in painting, and starting a masters in Cultural Administration. Then, hurricane Maria happened, and I decided to stop pursuing graduate school, to dedicate myself to my new passion: tattoo art. At first it was difficult to find an appropriate place to work, because of all of the damage from the storm, we had electricity issues all around the island- in some places, it took more than a year to restore power. Nevertheless, it’s still impressive the amount of people that were willing to get tattooed during the aftermath of a natural catastrophe. Thus, I feel like events that have a deep impact on us, typically lead us to finding ways to heal them or perpetuate them, in some way or another.

After a couple of months, I set up a private studio in my house, where I worked during the consequent months until I found my first opportunity in a professional tattoo shop. There I worked for a little over a year, as an apprentice, bettering my technique, learning more about my gear, hygiene, and the local tattoo industry.

In 2019, I did my first guest spot abroad, a goal I had since I started. I worked in Black & Blue in San Francisco, CA, for three months, which ended up being a great experience for me in a lot of ways, mainly getting to feel the satisfaction of practicing my art in a different part of the globe. After this, as I came back to Puerto Rico, I soon started tattooing at my current shop, Tradiciones Tattoo, in Rio Piedras.

My personal style & interest is within the lines of traditional & neotraditional. I enjoy playing with line type variations, tonal values, high saturation and bold color palettes. Even though I’m mainly working with color, as a specialty, I also practice and enjoy working certain designs black & grays. I am quite open to experimenting with my clients (often crazy) ideas, as long as they also practice being open to work within my professional advice, so we can end up with a custom piece of my art. Within that space of coexistence, at the end of the day, is where I strive.

-Caguama