My Story

A young man with tattoos on his arms and leg, wearing a white T-shirt and black pants, standing in a room with colorful graffiti art and decorations, smiling at the camera.

I’m Diego. I’m from the Philippines, spent part of my life in Bloomington, Indiana, and now tattoo in Chicago. While I was in Bloomington, I started giving art more space in my life. I explored painting, drawing, and murals, and eventually tattooing became part of that too.

A lot of my work comes back to being Filipino. Living away from the Philippines, I’ve found myself looking more closely at the art and traditions connected to home. I’m interested in the patterns you see in tattoos, weaving, and carvings, and what they can tell us about the people who made them. That curiosity continues to shape my work.

I specialize in Tatak, ancestral Filipino tattooing, and black and grey illustration. I also have a playful side to my drawing that comes through in my doodle style. I enjoy being able to explore both. Some ideas call for pattern and repetition, while others start with a drawing I want to keep playing with.

Outside of tattooing, I still paint and work on murals. I like seeing what happens when I take an idea from one medium into another. I’m learning more about what I want to make as I go, and this site is a place to share that work with you.

Green terraced hillsides in a mountainous foggy landscape, with a winding path and a few people sitting in the foreground.

Back to the Philippines

I went back to the Philippines in 2024 and 2025 to get tattooed by Apo Whang Od in Buscalan, Kalinga. During that time, I also tattooed in Manila and Cebu and took part in the Kapatik Tattoo Convention.

That experience changed a lot for me, personally and in my career. It gave me the motivation to go deeper into Filipino tattooing, learn more about its roots, and take my own work more seriously. Something I wanted to pursue started to feel like something I could actually build my life around.

Being back home and experiencing all of this gave me a clearer sense of what I wanted. I came away wanting to put more of myself into tattooing and do the work to make it a reality.

A young man with dark hair and tattoos on his arms taking a selfie with an elderly woman with gray hair, wearing a red bandana and colorful jewelry, both smiling. They are outdoors in a vibrant, urban environment with colorful walls and murals in the background.

Apo Whang Od, Buscalan, Tinglayan, Kalinga

Group of six people outdoors on a hillside with green vegetation and houses in the background.
A person with a floral tattoo on their back sitting at a table while a woman with a smile paints a large floral design on their shoulder, in a casual outdoor setting.

Kapatik Tattoo Convention

Cebu City, Philippines

A person lying on a bed with a blanket, tattoos visible on the arm and leg, a wristband on the ankle, and a tattoo on the thigh. The person is using a phone, and a tattoo artist is working on their leg.
A person with tattoos on their arm, wearing black gloves, is tattooing another person lying down and wearing a white shirt and shorts.
A person's arm with a tattoo of an abstract, stylized animal, possibly a tiger or a lion, with swirling patterns and bold lines.
A woman and a shirtless man with tattoos standing in front of a display booth for Benguet Tatted Mummies at a fair or exhibition. The booth has various bottles of paint or ink, a basket, and other craft supplies, with a black banner behind featuring images and text.

I first met Ate Wamz at the Kapatik Tattoo Convention in Cebu City in 2024. A year later, she came to Chicago for a cultural workshop at the Field Museum and spent three days tattooing with us at Cyprus Chicago.

Ate Wamz is an Indigenous traditional batek tattoo artist from Benguet, Philippines. Having her here felt like a blessing. I got to watch her work, learn from her approach, and listen as she shared teachings from her elders and ancestors.

Over those three days, people came by to watch, ask questions, and listen. I’m grateful we could share that time with her and that our Filipino American community had a chance to learn from her in person.

Hosting Ate Wamz at Cyprus Chicago

Two people hugging indoors, with visible tattoos and jewelry, smiling at the camera. The background shows a studio or creative space with mirrors, shelves, plants, and ceiling track lighting.