Smile Now, Cry Later
Guns, Gangs, and Tattoos-My Life in Black and Gray
Pioneering black-and-gray tattoo artist Freddy Negrete was twelve years old and confined in the holding cell of a Los Angeles juvenile facility when an older teenager entered—covered in tattoos. Freddy was in awe, not just of the art, but of what it symbolized, and he wanted what this kid had: the potent sense of empowerment and belonging that came from joining a gang. The encounter drove Freddy to join the notorious gang La Sangra, and it didn't take long before he was a regular guest at LA County's juvenile detention facilities. By the age of twenty-one, Freddy had spent almost his whole life as a ward of the state in one form or the other.
Enthralled by the black-and-gray tattoo style…
$39.00
August 30, 2016Legendary tattoo artist FREDDY NEGRETE is best known for his pioneering black-and-gray tattoo style, honed while he was serving time in the Preston School of Industry correctional facility for a gang-related firearm incident in the 1970s. Freddy's "joint-style" designs found their way out onto the streets of East LA and caught the eye of other body art pioneers, and, under the mentorship of tattoo legend Ed Hardy, Freddy created a "back piece" that earned him a Tattoo Artist of the Year Award in 1980. After a youth mired in gang life, bouts of drug addiction, and a ten-year period of renouncing his tattooing success in favor of bible study and becoming…
The Tattoo Art of Freddy Negrete
Freddy Negrete
Smile Now, Cry Later
Freddy Negrete and Steve Jones; foreword by Luis RodriguezSTEVE JONES is a commissioned screenwriter and playwright. His first play, Cracked Eggs, was staged at the Finborough Theatre in Earls Court, London; Jones later co-produced Cracked Eggs as a short film featuring Jared Harris (Lane Pryce in AMC's Mad Men series), which screened at the Austin, Boston Underground, LA Shorts, and London Independent film festivals. Steve's subsequent plays Baloopa's Journey and Hero & Zero were awarded arts council grants in England, Austria, and Lithuania. Steve is a member of the Society of Authors, UK. (www.stevejoneswriter.com)