Tatay Nero Nievo
Despite the fact that he helped legalize tattooing 20 years ago in the Philippines after Marcos’s rule by founding the Philippine Tattoo Artist Guild and subsequently giving employment and income to thousands of artists all over the country, Nero Nievo (or Tatay Nero as we call him), owns a small shop half the size of a small bedroom right under a railway overpass.
He blessed me with a permanent portrait of my mother and father on the happiest day of their lives: their wedding day.
Salamat Tatay Nero.
“Octopushink”
inside Hansel Arcade
Aurora Blvd.
Cubao, Manila
(From Makati, take MRT north to Aurora-Cubao. Walk north on EDSA and turn right on Aurora Blvd. Hansel Arcade is on the left, in front of Isetann Mall).