Permanently decorating the skin is an experience that begins with the choice of the design, the size, the part of the body, and the most important thing: who should I trust to tattoo me?
Although the art of the needles has established studios and well-recognized names among ink lovers in Cuba today, many are joining the experience of drawing on the human body, always with their own stamp.
One of the studios that is gaining in popularity is El PainHouse. The magic happens on the top floor of a building in the heart of Havana’s Vedado district, thanks to Roger Campoalegre and two other tattoo artists.
A graphic designer by profession, about a year ago Roger started out in the world of tattooing (although he already had several tattoos on his own body). He taught himself the art, guided by the advice and help of several friends.
When asked if El PainHouse is a place where people have their bodies painted or suffer, he answers that it is neither one nor the other, and at the same time a little bit of both.
“Tattooing sparks lots of curiosity in people, they get nervous because they don’t always know what’s going to happen, especially if it’s the first time. But here we prefer to teach people, not just mark their skin, we want the day they get a tattoo to be an experience.
“Often people come with an idea, they consult us, listen to proposals or suggestions, negotiate and get advice. The client has to be satisfied, beyond the personal taste of the tattoo artists, that is the philosophy of El PainHouse.”
Each artists brings his own style to the studio, although all three do everything. Black and white tattoos are Daymar’s favorite, a young man with a lot of experience in this type of work. Adrian likes traditional drawing best, and Roger likes illustrations.
“We came together because we like to design what we are going to do, which to some extent has been lost when it comes to tattooing, partly because often the dynamics tell you that what works best in practice is what requires less time and what is economically more beneficial. Doing something personalized requires time, and often it doesn’t pay for the hours spent designing.”
Roger notes that people who are going to get tattooed look for references that have nothing to do with Cuba, with the climate, with different skin types, and there are many photos of retouched tattoos on the Internet, so part of his job is to educate customers so that the “job” looks good, not only when it is finished, but in the long term.
“We’ve been doing well because we’re doing the designs that we like and people have started to like them too.”
The team at El PainHouse aspires to become more than just a tattoo studio, offering an experience and organizing exhibitions, concerts and other activities. The mystique and decor of the site are designed for that purpose.
“All kinds of people come to the studio, we tattoo anyone ranging from a lawyer to a doctor, professionals who are practicing what they studied. The stigma that those who get tattoos are frowned upon or belong to a more marginalized sector of society is being erased, and people are increasingly getting tattoos in visible areas. People are losing their fear of displaying their tattoos.”
