Chicano style tattoos. Chicano tattoo

In today's article we will talk about tattoos, or more precisely about the Chicano tattoo style. Recently, body designs have gained particular popularity among different ages and genders, and this is not surprising, because tattoos look cool, stylish and original.

With their help, you can emphasize your individuality, as well as talk about your character traits. Such images help not only to decorate your body, but also to radically change your image. And, as they say, demand creates supply, so the widespread use of body designs has led to the emergence of a large number of styles in which designs are applied to the body. Next we will talk about one of the most popular styles - Chicano tattoos.

Chicano tattoo from shoulder to elbow

Chicano on the shoulder blade

Chicano style tattoo

Skull with wings and roses

Chicano on the sternum

Chicano style realism

Chicano on the chest, male

Chicano girl

Chicano color tattoo

Chicano cross

Girl with a gun

Chicano girls, bird, cross

The Chicano style should perhaps be called one of the most popular in the art of tattooing. And even though he appeared relatively recently. this does not at all prevent its rapid spread. Why do most adherents of body designs choose Chicano tattoos? Because they look impressive, they are easy to distinguish from others.

Tattoos in this style have their own characteristic features. In particular, sketches usually include one color.

Most often these are black and white pictures, but there are also color versions. In addition to black, such patterns contain gray gradients. A distinctive feature is that no bright colors are used in the drawing. However, you can often find red and other colors in such body designs, but they will only complement the overall picture, placing accents.

As for the themes of the style, the following topics should rather be highlighted:

faith, religion;
money and wealth;
criminal paraphernalia, weapons;
gambling, cards, dice;
girls with beautiful Chicano patterns on their faces.

The latter are the most popular today. As for criminal attributes, they almost always associate the bearer of a tattoo with the group to which he belongs. Such body designs are often applied to the hand, forearm, back, etc.

Girl on the forearm

Cross with a skull on the entire back

Pussy arm tattoo

Head tattoo

Inscription on the chest

Small tattoo on finger

Story

The word “Chicano” does not have a specific translation, but there is an opinion that the word is a distorted interpretation of the word “mexicano”. They used to call Mexican Americans. Initially, body images in the Chicano style were a distinctive feature of Latin American gangs, but later, together with their carriers, they were transferred to the prison sphere. For a long time, only “privileged persons”, representatives of the criminal classes of the population, were awarded such tattoos, but, years later, tattoos in the Chicano style found their fans and became widespread among the civilian population. Today they do not at all indicate the bad qualities of their owner.

It is noteworthy that until quite recently the meaning of Chicano tattoos was associated with belonging to the Latin population group, because previously they wore these images on their bodies not for decoration. Having seen such a picture on the body of a Mexican, one could immediately understand which gang he belonged to. Putting a Chicano tattoo on the body was a kind of rite of passage for a new member of the group.

Modern society does not perceive these drawings as something criminal. Quite the opposite, because they have become extremely popular among people who have nothing to do with the prison world.

Let's talk about choosing a master

Since this style has quite complex designs, you will need to find an excellent specialist so that he can turn what you want into reality. The best Chicano tattoos are obtained only from experienced tattooists, with good imagination and a high level.

In principle, a good one in the Chicano style can depict almost any plot, because the main role here is played by the color scheme, which conveys the mood of the plot. Very often, images of Chicanos are done in the style of realism.

This makes the picture more believable. If you are inspired by this style and are looking for ideas for a Chicano tattoo, look for sketches on the Internet or seek help from a specialist. The best Chicano tattoos are the ones that are custom made. Remember this if you want such a picture to show off only on your body. will depend on its size and complexity, as well as the presence of small parts.

Photo

Review of gangster tattoos in the Chicano tattoo style, for men and women. Beauties in bandanas and without them with patterns on their faces.

The Chicano style appeared around the 1940s and quickly became popular among Latin Americans. Such images instilled fear in people because they were worn by members of gangs and factions. From the drawing it was possible to determine which bandit clan its owner belonged to. The presence of body drawings demonstrated one’s devotion to the gang and its principles.

The modern method of tattooing uses tattoo machines, but back then they used a needle and ink. This made it possible to form the basic style inherent in Chicano tattoos. Bright additional colors were avoided in every possible way, and the lines were drawn clearly and according to the pattern.

In general, Chicano is an ethnic group living in the United States in the 16th and 17th centuries. Over time, the group split up. Its representatives settled in the territory of modern Colorado, New Mexico and Texas and Arizona. No one could understand the meaning of the word “Chicano”. Even today it is unknown what it means.

Traditional images for Chicano tattoos on the arm are Christ, the Virgin Mary and Saint Lucas. With the development of this trend, images of Santa Muerte appear, coming from a Latin American religious cult. Of course, the Chicano style is gloomy, but it has a sublime meaning - love for family and loyalty to one’s surroundings.

Different times have come, and now Chicano tattoos can be seen on modern youth. Over the course of its existence, it has changed, so many people add brighter colors to it that were previously inapplicable.

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 calling card 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 Marta” that today everyone recognizes the Chicano style; this is the most famous drawing, probably because it immediately attracts attention and remains in the memory.

The theme 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.

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.

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.