Culture | June 2nd, 2016
Mike Dalager
Illegal tattoos in Cuba? Yes please…I’ll take one. That’s right. Tattooing is illegal in the entire country of Cuba. Not one license has ever been issued.
Tattooing has had a rough history around the world anyways but to think that nowadays we aren’t forward-thinking enough to let people decide on their own what or what not to permanently affix to their own bodies, is just ludicrous at best.
I am a big proponent of freedom of choice and maybe I have a biased opinion, but the rules in place already state that a person has to be 18 (an adult by classic definition) in order to get a tattoo. That seems like enough of a law, but in some states there is a 24 hour waiting period before the artist is allowed to make his or her masterpiece. And obviously there are health codes to comply with as in most businesses. No problem there.
If there is already a platform or outline for this type of work to exist, why not just put it in place? Ché Alejandro owns and operates the Toy Store Tattoo shop in Havana, Cuba. He has been in the tattoo scene in Cuba since the beginning. He has even been dubbed the “grandfather of tattoos.” His shop has been shut down, equipment confiscated, his employees fined, etc. all for practicing his art form. The main root of the problem lies within the political system of Cuba: communism.
is government-owned which means the citizens of Cuba are not allowed to own private businesses. Everyone who has a job makes similar wages, equaling around US$30 per month. No free enterprise. A few years ago, however, Raul Castro loosened some of these restrictions and issued operating licenses for more than 200 different types of businesses for private citizens to run.
Oddly enough, tattoo parlors were not on that list. Ché can’t even buy his equipment anywhere in the whole of Cuba. A special importer has to get__250-wide.jpg)
licensed to bring new needles, different grips, colorful inks, and even tattoo magazines to the people of this culture.
Hopefully there will be some more positive changes in the near future, but Ché will still be there biding his time giving tattoos and tattoo advice to all those willing. Despite how illegal it is, I still enjoyed getting a tattoo by Ché at less than half of what it would cost in the U.S. Maybe there are some benefits of this illegal way of life.
January 15th 2026
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