We took a trip to Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico to celebrate the 11th Annual Expo Tatuaje with Cesar and the crew of Ritual Tattoo shop in Monterrey. With just a few tattoo expos in Mexico, the one in Monterrey is surely one to be at and be seen at. We received a special invitation to attend the event from Cesar, the curator of the Expo and the owner of Ritual Tattoo.
As we walked into the show, we were greeted with oversized banners showing pictures of the Ritual crew, which seemed to make us anxious to see what the Expo had to offer. A few days before, there were also a few seminars that included painting techniques with oleo and acrylics by Espi, portrait techniques by Bob Tyrrell, and the Chicano way of lettering by Tony Salgado from the Por Vida tattoo studio.
We saw a few tattoo artists from the States at the show who made the trip down to Monterrey to show their support and some of their work. Artists like Goethe, Nikko, Liorcifer, Ethan Morgan and many more were in the mix. There were also a lot of artists from Mexico, including Kiki, Sammy, Pedro Alvares, Garage Ink, and the crew from Evolution Tattoo just to name a few. With so many tattoo artists and a high volume of attendees, the show was phenomenal. And why wouldn't it be with something for everyone to enjoy?
If you weren't getting tattooed by world-reknowned artists, you could watch the football game where local teams Los Rayados y Los Tigres went head to head or watch the performance of local band Control Machete. You could also just chill with celebrities like "Roco" from Maldita Vecindad, who was taking pictures and signing autographs.
As the day ended, there were a few new tattoos in the city that were ready to be shown off to the world. If you missed the Expo or were there and want to take another look, check out www.expotatuaje.com. We would also like to extend our thanks to Cesar for inviting us to this great event.