A delegation of tattoo artists and assistants from Belize travelled to Cancun, Mexico on Friday February 17th to participate in Cancun’s Tattoo Expo 2012. The delegation was a collaboration of three tattoo shops; House of Pain in Corozal, Belizean Ink in Cayo and from San Pedro, Tattoo Life. Tattoo artists included; George Alamilla, aka Inkman; Karim Sosa aka Wimpas and Fabian Mansania.
Wilhemina Vasquez of Tattoo Life spoke with The Sun about their experience at the Expo. “We had a blast to start of with. We took down three artists; Ink Man; Wimpas, and Fabian Mansania from House of Pain in Corozal. We got a good crowd when we got there and got a lot of people excited. It was the first time a shop from Belize actually participated in a Cancun convention. Other than that we did some very good work.”
The team, unfortunately did not produce any tattoos that qualified for the competition itself; “We did not do any tattoos that qualified for the competition, which were the larger pieces for black and grey. We had color portraits as a competition and we had best in show. For best in show the tattoo that was being done did not finish until midnight so it couldn’t compete. Time frame wise, it was a different atmosphere to what we were used to. The booths were close to each other and we had to fit our three artists in one booth including the assistants. We were right next to these guys that were from Villahermosa who had some sick, sick, sick work. So it was kind of intimidating at the same time, to be next to a guy who has over thirty years of experience tattooing people. But other than that it was a very awesome experience. We got some awesome input and now we are being asked to host an Expo here in Belize.”
The Expo is mainly about exposing artists and their work. The Tattoo Expo also features live music, live shows, fire plays, bikers, skate boarders and more; “We also have other art work being on display. People who paint, people who do air brush, all forms of arts are on display, including body modification. Some of these artists are actually body modifiers. They don’t only do piercings they modify people’s bodies through implants. It’s insane.”
According to Vasquez, they are projecting the last weekend in November for the Belize Tattoo Expo and are seeking the assistance of the entire community to bring this new experience to the Island. “If we can get our artists and our sponsors to help us out then that will be great because these guys need to come down here and see what we have. The venue would definitely be here in San Pedro. They’ve had Expos in Belize City before but that hasn’t really come to comparison to what happened in Cancun. However, I do believe San Pedro has A – the tourism and B – the capacity for it.”
Vasquez is targeting artists from Belize as well as artists from abroad to be part of this Expo. “If we can get the artists we want down here it’s gonna be a go-gain for us. I’m targeting the artists in Belize City, the artists that are from Belize that have moved to Chetumal to tattoo. I’m targeting pretty much the Belizeans that have ran away form Belize to come down here. In Belize City itself, we have some good artists. We have Patrick from Prick Custom Designs – he does some amazing portraits, we want him to bring his butt down here for that. We have Wimpas who has Belizean Ink in Cayo. We have Alan who is from here. We have this other guy in Chetumal, Graciel who does some sweet work. We also have Fabian and Beto – we have all of these guys down in
Belize that do some really good work.”
Work for this Expo is underway and Vasquez is reaching out to the business community and the community of San Pedro to be a part of this historic and epic event that promotes Art and Culture here on the island through sponsorship. This can be done by contacting Wilhemina Vasquez at Tattoo Life located on Barrier Reef Drive immediately north of Holiday Hotel or by calling 629-3986. The shop is opened Mondays through Saturdays from 10AM to 9PM.
The San Pedro Sun congratulations the artists that travelled to showcase Belize’s talents in Cancun: Inkman, Wimpas and Fabian. The Belize delegation to Cancun takes this opportunity to thank sponsors: Rebecca Arceo from Seaduced by Belize, Ultimate Rentals, Chuck and Robbie, Giovanni Marin and Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. “Without these people we would not have been able to go. You made it possible for us to be able to leave a little mark of Belize back there with them.”
