With the "Day of the Dead" theme going strong some people jump in the bandwagon to take advantage of what's hot rather than truly understanding the meaning behind the Day of the Dead holiday. Kiki Platas is one of the few exceptions to that theory. We met with Kiki a few years back when he invited us to his Tattoo Convention in Tijuana, Baja California. Kiki's Day of the Dead artwork has been collected for many years before it went mainstream and before it started popping up on clothing, accessories and purses. Kiki is truly one of the best artists to come out of Mexico and is well respected in the art community. Kiki's unique way of expressing his artwork has taken him all over the world showing off his skills both in flesh and on paper. Kiki is back in the United States and is ready to take on what's next with the support of his family, friends, and fans. We sit down and ask Kiki a few personal questions about his work and life and this is what he had to say.Tell us about yourself?
I'm 37 years old and was born in Los Angeles, raised in Tijuana, and went to school in San Diego. I actually lived in Los Angeles and for my first three years of elementary school I attended a Catholic school somewhere in Inglewood, I think. I was the only Mexican there besides one of the lunch ladies. My mom and pop had a falling out and she didn't want to stay in Los Angeles so we went back to Tijuas and San Diego. I got into some legal problems as soon as I got out of high school. I was looking at a five-year sentence and pretty much said, "F*** that, I'm going back to TJ." So I was like, "Ay te wacho gavacho."
When did you know that you were an artist?
I always did a little something here and there since I was a kid but nothing too serious. I think I won a couple of drawing contests in Jr. High, so maybe then.What type of artwork did you first start doing
I remember drawing stuff out of Lowrider magazine. It was like a '52 Chevy truck with a bag of money in the bed and money flyin' out of it. I also did a little graffiti in high school. Again, nothing major.
What mediums do you like working with for your paintings?
The past couple of years I've mainly been using ink and liquid acrylics.
How was your transition from drawing to tattooing?
I actually didn't focus on my drawing that much until after I started tattooing.
When did you open your tattoo shop in Tijuana?
I opened up Tinta Distinta in 1995.You are well known for your Dia De Muertos theme tattoos and paintings, how did that come about?
That came about after a tattoo convention in Monterey in a hotel room chopping it up after the show. At this time I'm doing the Mexican convention circuit with Pablo Ash and Goethe this is like '98. We were clowning on fools that had totally bit Goethe's style-there was like five banners with his flash designs on it. So we were saying there's so much Mexican Folk art to draw from why do these fools have to copy. So that night I made up my mind to look for something in our culture that appealed, something I could translate into tattooing. It had been done before but no one really pushed it beyond a sugar skull you know. So I got into it. The first year I did two sets of flash and followed up with a set each year.