The Pachucos began to form gangs to protect their barrios from racial discrimination and abuse. The progression of this outsider culture was in direct rebellion to how Mexican immigrants were treated at the time, they were excluded from certain public areas, there was a constant threat of violence, and they were regularly harassed by the police. The rebellious side of the pachuco culture would go on to develop more in LA with the additions of different slang, zoot suits, and having common hangouts at parties and pool halls. The East LA barrios had the highest population of Mexican immigrants in the US at the time and were constantly threatened by developers and got a lot of pushback from white America after the labor shortage ended.
#SMILE NOW CRY LATER TATTOO IMAGES MANUAL#
Jobs in Mexico at the time were few and far between which caused Mexican immigrants to have a strong work ethic, employers liked this and hired thousands of immigrants for manual labor jobs. Before the Great Depression the United States had a worker’s shortage which caused the US to send propaganda to Mexico advertising California as the “Golden State,” where work was promised. The pachucos represented a rebellion against the “American” norm and ethnic pride but other immigrants feared that their rebellious behavior would bring more hostility towards other Mexican immigrants. There the pachucos were rejected both by white people as well as Mexican immigrants. The pachucos followed the migration of Mexican railroad workers from Texas to the west coast where they ended up in Los Angeles. They would also rebel through the way they dressed by wearing things like earrings which were controversial at the time. They decorated their bodies in tattoos that represented their spiritual beliefs which usually was a mix between Catholicism and Native spirituality. In the 20s and 30s the city became known as “El Pachuco,” outlaws and smugglers were common there and became known as “pachucos.” They had their own subculture, working in the underground they were feared by many but took pride in who they were. El Paso, Texas borders Juarez, Mexico and has always been a crossing ground for Mexican immigrants. The history of Mexican Americans and the story of Freddie Negrete, the grandfather of photo realism tattooing and a child of Chicano culture, tells us how this design came together. The Smile Now, Cry Later tattoo design consists of two masks, one expressing comedy, and the other tragedy and is classically paired with “Smile Now, Cry Later” lettering. This month I want to highlight the significant role that Chicanos have played in American tattooing by discussing one of the most timeless tattoo designs, and one that anyone can connect to Smile Now, Cry Later. We would spend our nights riding lowrider bikes through downtown, shooting dice, talking to the neighborhood people who would pop in, sending tattoo designs to friends in the pen, writing graffiti, and roasting each other.
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There I learned the fundamentals in lettering, finer lines, black and gray realism, smooth shading, and how to make a customized tattoo that catered to the person getting it and the story that they had to tell.
These early times in my tattoo career were some of the most memorable for me and have shaped the way I approach tattooing to this day. Lucky’s gave some of the best black and grey artists in Texas their roots. Lucky’s was the Chicano tattoo shop to go to when Deep Ellum had a tattoo boom in the early 2000s. I began tattooing in 2012 at Lucky’s in Dallas, TX which was located in Deep Ellum off of Main Street in the old Pair-O-Dice tattoo shop that was once owned by Richard Stell. He is famous for his production flash, black and grey tattoos, and wood cutouts. The shading was modeled after a Texas tattoo that was done by Lil’ Chris, who is a member of a prominent Chicano tattoo family, the Lunas, in Dallas, TX. My very first tattoo was a black and gray rose with Texas and a wing spread across my ribs. Chicano culture has always had a major influence on me throughout my tattoo career.
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