Chicago style flower tattoos. Chicano style tattoos. Chicano style tattoos for men

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Chicano tattoos were originally tattooed by members of criminal gangs as a distinctive body sign. The tattoo showed affiliation with one gang or another. A distinctive feature of tattoos of that time can be considered the roughness and ease of application. Such tattoos were filled using black or blue ink and a sewing needle.

Today, the Chicano style has evolved somewhat, but has retained its authenticity. The peculiarity of the style is the clarity of lines and the use of one color in the composition. Today, however, you won't be accused of being tasteless if you wear a colorful Chicano. Adherents of this school have a democratic attitude towards experiments.

Peculiarities

The name Chicano comes from the ethnic group of Spanish-speaking Catholics of the same name who once lived in several southern American states. Representatives of this Latin American ethnic group lived very poorly, and it was in this environment that the ideology of the Chicano style was formed. Unfortunately, to date, precise interpretations of Chicano philosophy have not reached us. But we can learn something about this by studying the subject of Latin American tattoos.

A Chicano style tattoo typically depicts:

Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary;
Crosses;
Phrases and mottos.

The subject matter may seem a little dark at first glance. But if you look at all this through the prism of the street romance of guys from Mexican gangs, you can understand the essence of the Chicano style.

Men's and women's tattoos

Of course, Chicano is a distinctly masculine style, since it originated in a rather aggressive male environment. This genre is preferred by guys who are not alien to the bold beliefs of street romantics. Among Chicano fans there are many representatives of hip-hop culture. These people can be called the typical “target audience” for such tattoos.

However, some girls also have a soft spot for Chicanos. On a graceful female body, such tattoos look especially unusual. Such a tattoo makes it clear that you are not dealing with an “obedient” girl. So girls who have chosen a similar lifestyle for themselves will not be able to miss the opportunity to provoke society with a brutal tattoo in the Chicano style.

Celebrities

There are not many prominent adherents of the Chicano style among celebrities, but certain elements of the genre are present on the body:

Travis Barker;
Eminem.

As for typical Chicano style fonts, they are actively used by fans of tattoos, especially when applying philosophical aphorisms and quotes to the body.

Chicano is one of the most famous styles in tattoo art. And, despite its relative youth (and Chicano appeared and became widespread only in the middle of the last century), this style is one of the most popular and easily recognizable.

This style also has its own history. The word “Chicano” itself does not have an exact translation; one of the main assumptions is a distorted form of the word “mexicano”, which denoted American Mexicans. Initially, Chicano tattoos were a distinctive feature of Latin American gangs and, together with their owners, migrated to prison dungeons. For a long time, Chicanos remained the privilege of the criminal population, but, years later, they crossed this threshold and today a Chicano-style tattoo does not convey anything bad about its owner.

But at the same time, Chicanos were not only a symbol of belonging to one or another street gang. There was also a deeper meaning hidden in these tattoos - the futility of existence and the highest justice, which each of us comes to sooner or later. Therefore, Chicanos were often associated with the popular “danse macabre” plot, which depicted death leading to different people. This adds a particularly mysterious, even sinister meaning to a Chicano style tattoo.

Despite the fact that Chicanos today are free from prejudice, as mentioned above, this style still retains some characteristic features. In particular, the sketches usually include mostly black and gray gradients, and no particularly bright colors are used in Chicano art. Although today in a tattoo made in the Chicano style you can find red or some other colors, you will not see a riot of colors, these will only be laconic and unobtrusively placed accents.

Moreover, some specific themes related to the themes of faith, money and wealth, criminal paraphernalia such as weapons, cards, dice, and girls, often with national patterns on their faces, are also typical for Chicanos. Moreover, today the most popular designs are the latter. Weapons, cards and money were most often associated with the group to which the Chicano owner belonged, so today drawings on this topic are not particularly popular.

A radically opposite situation has developed with the drawings of girls - today they are practically the hallmark of Chicanos. Most often, girls are depicted with national patterns, stylized as a skull, which makes them especially recognizable and intimidatingly beautiful. Usually these gloomy beauties are called “Santa Muerte”, which translates as “Holy Death”. It is from “Santa Marte” that everyone today recognizes the Chicano style; this is the most famous drawing, probably because it immediately attracts attention and remains in the memory.

The topic of religion is no less popular. Very often in Chicano tattoos you can find images of St. Mary or Jesus Christ. After all, Chicano originated in the poorest areas, where religion was one of the ways to survive in harsh reality and not lose faith in the future. Although sometimes religious images are also presented in rather gloomy tones, the hard life of the Mexicans, among whom this trend of tattoos originated, left its mark on the overall picture of the Chicano.

Lettering is also very popular among Chicanos. Today this will not surprise anyone, but tattoos in the form of important dates, names and sayings originated among Latinos who got Chicano tattoos while in prison. These inscriptions, made in the form of a tattoo, supported people in difficult moments of their lives, reminding them of important life principles and laws from which they should not deviate.

There are no specific designs that are characteristic of Chicanos. There is only the technique of execution and the main trends and plots. After looking at a variety of photos of tattoos, you can create your own, original and, at the same time, reflecting the Chicano style exactly as it originated in Latin America more than half a century ago.

Tattoo art never ceases to develop and improve. In search of new ideas and styles, tattoo artists turn to interesting traditions and cultures of many countries, and also look for sources of inspiration even in those areas of life that for many years have been a separate, isolated topic, inaccessible to general understanding. Many popular types of tattoos appeared and developed for a long time in the criminal environment, and then, having lost their marginal status, became in demand among the ordinary population, for example, this is how the Chicano tattoo became popular.

Origin of the style

The Chicano style is considered relatively young. It originated in the mid-twentieth century in the USA and for the first decades was in demand exclusively in criminal circles. The fact is that this type of tattoo was invented by representatives of Latin American gangs operating in the United States. Each gang had its own slogan, its own laws and principles, which were applied to the bodies of gang members in the form of tattoo images. In this way, criminals easily identified each other when they found themselves in a street showdown or met in places of detention.

It happened that after seeing an interesting image on the body of a cellmate, other prisoners also tattooed a similar design on their body. Gradually, the popularity of tattoos increased, and they began to be tattooed not only by representatives of the criminal world, but also by law-abiding people. Currently, an image in the Chicano style is considered a separate type of tattoo art and is not a criminal tattoo.

Despite the fact that images in the Chicano style have ceased to be an attribute of the criminal world, their themes and plots are quite brutal, which makes tattooing a more masculine type of tattoo art.

Subjects and meaning of tattoo images

Since the founders of the style were Mexicans who traded illegally in American cities, the themes and storylines of Chicano tattoos were appropriate.

The illegal activities and crazy lives of Latin American criminals contributed to the fact that tattoos often depicted pistols, playing cards and dice. In addition, Latinos, especially those from poorer backgrounds, are extremely devout and religious. Therefore, religious subjects, images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary, as well as crucifixes and quotes from the Holy Scriptures, fragments of prayers are often used in tattoos.

Another interesting theme in Chicano tattoos is the depiction of girls, who, on the one hand, indicate the love of the owner of the tattoo, and on the other hand, declare his heterosexuality, which was important in case of imprisonment.

The hallmark of tattoos in this style are images of girls in the image of “Santa Muerte” (Holy Death). Such images are associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday and the tradition of women dressing in the outfit of Death. The tattoo has a symbolic meaning; it denotes the futility of existence and the idea that everyone is equal before death, therefore sooner or later they will say goodbye to life.

It should be noted that this style of tattoo is still developing and undergoing some changes, for example, the image of weapons and quotes taken from biblical texts are becoming a thing of the past. They were replaced by philosophical sayings that had no religious overtones.

This is interesting! Some world-famous stars have tattoos in the Chicano style, for example, rapper Eminem, as well as rock drummer Travis Barker, who plays in the band Blink-182. However, perhaps the most famous celebrity with images in this style is the Mexican actor Danny Trejo, known for the films “Machete”, “From Dusk Till Dawn”, “Spy Kids”.

Tattoo color scheme

Since the tattoo originated in the criminal circles of poor Mexicans, and for a long time it was tattooed only in gateways and prison cells, the main color of the images was black pigment. This tradition continues to this day. Black color and gray shades perfectly convey the true meaning of the tattoo (philosophical reflections about life and death, about fate, about faith in God and the Supreme Justice on earth). The black and white Chicano pattern gives brutality and masculinity to its owner.

In recent years, in addition to black dye, tattoo artists have begun to use other shades. Chicano-style images appeared in color. However, despite this, the general concept of the drawing remains the same. The tattoo should be strict and serious, so the color pigments used when applying the tattoo cannot be bright and flashy. Subtle shades are used.

Chicano style tells the story of Mexican culture. Despite its relative youth (the style appeared in the 20th century and is developing to this day), it is very rich in symbolism, signs, and the national flavor of Latin America. It has a criminal aspect, and real romance, and even darkness. All this is reflected in the famous themes of Chicano tattoos, where the main roles are played by beautiful girls, inscriptions, the theme of money, religion, risk and death. Very often all these motifs are intertwined in one sketch - the work turns out to be large and interesting.

There is also a separate Chicano font, reminiscent of calligraphic handwriting. It can also be compared to a Gothic font. The letters are characterized by decoration: they are curved, complemented by decorative elements, but at the same time the text is easy to read. The font is neither too thick nor too thin. It strikes a perfect balance, and this is another sign of style! In principle, there are no too rough contours or color transitions. And bright colors are not typical for him. Mostly Chicano girls and other subjects are depicted in black, shades of gray, with the addition of white. Other shades are rare and in limited quantities. But sometimes, in portraits of Santa Muerto there are red, yellow, blue and even pink.

Chicano style tattoos for men

Men's chicano sketches are, first of all, beautiful inscriptions in an original font. The texts often have romantic, philosophical content. After all, initially they reflected the difficult and dangerous life in criminal areas. Mexicans, members of gangs, applied religious tattoos and depicted various symbols that could protect. The philosophy of style speaks of justice, love, honor. It also often contains an image of a woman with national patterns on her face. She symbolizes a goddess who is fair to everyone and never leaves requests unheeded. This heroine is wonderful in her embodiment, but such work needs a decent scale. A shoulder or lower leg would be perfect for a portrait.

Chicano tattoos for girls

Many girls like sophisticated romance and bright Chicano stories. Those who strive to be mysterious choose inscriptions, images of roses and, of course, the legendary Santa Muerte. They embody sincerity, feminine and maternal principles, the concepts of eternity and love. Of course, a lot depends on the artist and his ability to implement a complex pattern on the skin.

Appeared in the USA in the middle of the last century. We owe its appearance in the art of tattoos Latin American criminal subculture, when body art was a symbol of gang membership and confirmation of a person’s passage through prison. It was in American prisons that the first Chicago-style tattoos (the same as Chicano) were made using a simple needle and black ink. Only 50 years later they began to go beyond gangs and be used by ordinary people, regardless of their affiliation with criminal groups and racial-ethnic groups.

The hidden meaning of a Chicago style tattoo

This type of tattoo had two semantic meanings: pragmatic and philosophical. The first was related to identification of a person to a particular gang, which greatly simplified communication on the streets. The second reflected a certain life position - deep faith in God and in the triumph of justice, as well as the transience of life and the readiness to die at any moment.

Chicago style tattoo locations

Initially these were arms and shoulders, later they moved on the back and even the thighs.

Currently the most popular Tattoo sleeve , when the pattern completely covers the entire length of the arm from the shoulder to the hand, and often the hand itself. These are not separate pictures, unrelated to each other, but entire compositions, including various images, smoothly intertwined into one plot. The tattoo sleeve is suitable for both men and women.

Who chooses Chicago style

Chicago looks very brutal and courageous on a male body. Sketches with weapons are suitable for a man who wants to demonstrate his strength and ability to stand up for himself. A drawing of a woman with a bandage over her mouth is suitable for a silent and secretive person.

Chicago style tattoos are also suitable for girls. Sketches with religious images, inscriptions, and the image of the Holy Death are especially popular among girls. This type of tattoo is chosen by women who are prone to adventurous adventures and want to show others their strength and independence.