Watch out for his tattoos as he is planning to have more on his side and across the back with map of islands, sun and stars and baybayin as the designs.

To give you some background, tribal tattoos are more on black inks, holds up very well and doesn’t fade easily. Plus, this is easy to design and very bold. So the next time you want to have a customized tattoo, you can consider trying this first because there are lot of tattoo artists that can do very well on this.

By the way, this tattoo was made by Kiko of Island Ink located in San Diego, Las Vegas.

Archgie (California)
3 Stars and a Sun by Ink Assassin

Its old-fashioned feel and historic charm style are some of the reasons why this type of font is famous and can be seen almost everywhere in the tattoo community. But very little is known on how the Old English Text font started. Nevertheless, one thing can best describe it: it was wonderfully made and developed.

Being compared to the famous Cloister Black by Morris Fuller Benton (1904), the Old English Text is classified under the Serif category as Blackletter and is known for its ornate capital letters and diamond-shaped serifs. Blackletter is one of the main kinds of Gothic letters and characterized with fiddly bits in the middle which are noticeable in Old English Text.

This font designed by William Caslon under Monotype Corporation Foundry is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows operating systems using the TrueType (.ttf) and OpenType (.otf) formats.

Jason (San Diego)
Ruivivar by Skin N Art
“RUIVIVAR and I’m proud to be a Filipino. This tats is my last name and we’re quite a few in our hometown. So I decided to write it in modified Spanish way and also to show that no matter where I am or who I’m with, I’ll say that I’m proud to be Pinoy.” 

Did he not know Third Watch?

If not, then he may not know Anthony Michael Ruivivar, one of the main casts of the NBC’s TV drama series Third Watch which last aired May 2005. And he may be interested in knowing the actor since both of them are of kin to Juan dela Cruz.

Anthony Michael’s father is of Filipino, Chinese, and Spanish descent while his mother is German and Scottish. The actor played the role of Carlos Nieto in the show which allowed him to show off his ethnicity that includes of the Filipino characteristic. Too bad he isn’t that visible on the screen now as he was before. 

We wonder if the inked Ruivivar is trying to pull a trick that he hasn’t heard of the actor Ruivivar.

Pete (Hawaii)
Pinoy/Pride with Philippine Sun and Stars by Felipe

What’s up with the ambigram? Admit it or not, it started to gain popularity when Dan Brown’s Angels and Demons was released a few years back. The book contains the famous ambigram of Illuminati which, when inverted, reads just the same. But has ambigram something to do with us, Filipinos? Answer is yes.

Ambigram is becoming a famous tattoo subject for most. See Parokya ni Edgar vocalist Chito Miranda’s surname inked on his right arm. In no time, the internet will be bombarded with Filipinos tattooed with ambigram since it is the in-thing.

Since we already are speaking of being a part of the fad, Philippines is now being tagged as a nation of copycats. We have the Pinoy Idol, Survivor Philippines, Kakasa ka bas a Grade 5 and more. We need not to tell you their counterpart. Funny? Not. Whatever happened to Filipino’s creative side?

Gerald Genus (Sac-Town, Cali)
by Cross Creek Tattoo in NC
“The Flag in tribal-ish style, a little bit different than the rest.”

Speaking of TRIBAL, did you know that as of 1990s a 100 plus highland tribal groups or a 3% of indigenous people have been known to be living in the Philippines?

Various tribes of various culture ranges from Luzon to Mindanao. We have the Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao and more from our Igorot tribes of Cordillera, the T’boli and B’laan which are the two indigenous groups found in Mindanao, and let us not forget the Aetas that are mostly located in Zambales. The list goes on and we don’t want to bore you enumerating all.

Thumbs up for the Philippine government for their continuous effort of preserving our tribal groups. Indigenous people are encourage to speak in their native language, dress in their traditional clothing, and celebrate their tradition and culture.

Anonymous (Los Angeles)
Three Stars with a Sun and Flag by Mexicano Shop
“Proud to be Pinoy.”

It’s not always the Filipinos who are left by their conquerors acquiring their culture. We are leaving marks as well. Filipino’s impact on Mexican culture is very evident especially in the Pacific Coast. Residents there can be seen drinking tuba from coconut trees. They also are enthralled by kite-flying with the use of papel de China. Mexicans named their fishing boats panga which is believed to be of Filipino origin.

An Acapulco college teacher mentioned that Filipinos or Filipino-Mexicans are being largely ignored despite the major role they played during Mexico’s struggle for independence way back 1800s. Around 200 Filipino-Mexicans joined Gen. Jose Maria Morelos’ army in its Western Mexico fight.

I wonder why Japan, American, and Spain have friendship days with the Philippines. What about Filipino-Mexican Day? Is there a thing as such?

Gerald Genus (Sac-Town, Cali)
by Cross Creek Tattoo in NC
“Just because it can be seen while I’m in uniform.”

Who else can we think of when we see PINOY PRIDE inked on knuckles? No doubt, it’s just him; the people’s champ, Manny Pacquiao.

PacMan—a professional boxer, recording artist, actor, and politics enthusiast—is rated by the Ring Magazine as world’s #1 pound-for-pound boxer who has won five world titles in five different weight divisions.

Pacquiao also endorses several commercial products, print and broadcast. His biggest yet is Nike’s Fast Forward campaign wherein other sports moguls like Kobe Bryant, Liu Xiang, Maria Sharapova, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Roger Federer starred.

Ranking at 57th in Forbes Magazine’s Celebrity 100 list along with Angelina Jolie and Tiger Woods, who would have thought that this General Santos native used to be a porter who earns less than anyone else?

Indeed, he’s a real Pinoy Pride.

Karding Satwa (Dubai UAE)
Christ Reaching Arms by Karding Satwa
“For those Filipinos who are in UAE and want to have a difference, call this number 0502469737 (Custom Skin).”

Philippines, being a predominantly Catholic country, celebrates Holy week, locally known as Semana Santa or Mahal na Araw, as one of its most important festivities.

The week starts with Palm Sunday wherein reenactments of Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem are present in almost all Churches celebrating the Holy Mass. Continuous chanting of prayers of Jesus’ life called Pabasa occurs from Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday. Maundy Thursday involves Church visits or Visita Iglesia while Good Friday is commemorated with street processions. Black Saturday should be observed with solemnity but ironically, this also happens to be the best time of the year for family reunions and outings. The week ends at Easter Sunday with a ceremony called Salubong featuring kids dressed as angels who are lifted up into mid-air.

We wonder if the tattoo was done as a form of penitensya, another peculiar activity by the Filipinos during Holy Week.

Randy Mack (Hawaii)
Love My Roots by Eguy Ipalari, Waipahu, Hawaii
“Thanks Homeboy. I’m proud of where I came from wherever I may lay down”.

Did you know that the first Philippine map, which was 27 inches wide and 42 inches long, was drawn by Nicolas dela Cruz and Francisco Suarez back in 1734?

Pinoy, a demonym for Filipino people, was first used in the 1920s by Filipino-Americans who were part of the first wave of Filipino migration to the United States. Take out the last four letters of Filipino, pino, and add up the letter Y to form the word. For many, Pinoy is similar to Mexican-American’s usage of Chicano.

No need for us to discuss who forms the roster of the Pinoy Pride. We might want to divert our attention from these already-known Filipino celebrities into the nameless heroes who are continuously giving out their best for the country.

Kris Hampton (Warrington, England)
Filipino Sun and Writing by Voodoo Tattoo in UK
“My modified Filipino sun tattoo with a star in the middle. The writing below was done before the sun tattoo, it says ‘magsama-sama at malakas, magwatak-watak at babagsak’ meaning – united we are strong, divided we fall. I got this because I want it to show I am proud of my English and Filipino heritage.”

Filipino British (Filipino Britons) population is the second-largest Filipino community in Europe but it isn’t as cohesive as other communities in other countries.

Having said that, “united we stand, divided we fall” can’t be applied to Philippine’s current social status as it is strongly diverse in all aspects. Unending political wars, social aggravations, massive poverty with seemingly no solution and whatnot. We really can’t be united if we don’t know how to be one. Reality bites.

Nevertheless, there’s still the bright side. Fil-Brits are unstoppable from making names, which is something we all should be proud of. We have ex-Sugababes member Mutya Buena, TV personality and beauty queen Leilani Dowding, and young Britain’s Got Talent contestant Charlie Green to name some.