Rebel ink shifts Pinoy tattoo taboos

MANILA - It might be shocking to see a 9-year-old boy sporting a yellow pencil tattoo on his upper arm, but for his famous tattoo artist dad, it's just a testament to indelible love.

Ricky Sta. Ana, president of the Philippine Tattoo Artist Guild (PHILTAG), explained that the tattoo - a cartoonish pencil with a spider's web behind it - was a gift for his son when he ranked 2nd in his 4th grade class.

The tattoo symbolizes how one should never stop learning.

"Actually, that's not allowed, you have to be 18 to get a tattoo, but it was my gift for him. My son has been asking for it, and his sisters were jealous when they saw it. I always tell my kids to smarten up first before they get tattoos. They have to prove they deserve it," Sta. Ana said in Filipino during an interview at the 9th Dutdutan Tattoo Expo.

Breaking tattoo taboos and promoting a more "meaningful" view of the art is one of the aims of the "2009 Dutdutan" held last Sept. 18-19 at the A. Events Hall in Makati.

The expo, sponsored by Tribal Gear and headed by PHILTAG, also seeks to promote and develop the Filipino tattoo industry so that it can be recognized internationally.

Even with a steep P250 entrance fee, the event still drew hundreds of tattoo artists, musicians, their wives and girlfriends, troops of teenagers, and curious onlookers.

Now on its 9th year, the Dutdutan - a double meaning for both tattooing and sex - featured more international exhibitors from France, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

It had events like tattoo-of-the-day contests, a mixed martial arts fight, concerts, and a bikini contest.

Sta. Ana, who has been tattooing since 1990, said the "Dutdutan" has grown from a simple undergound Christmas party by PHILTAG to a mainstream corporate brand-powered event that clinches a more high-end market.

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