On September 15th, multiple events throughout El Paso came alive in honor of 915 day, marking the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, a celebration of our bi-national border community.
Three local tattoo shops — After Ten Tattoo, Monolith Tattoo, and Sunset Tattoo Co.— teamed up to offer the public a chance to choose from over 100 El Paso-themed designs at any of the participating locations to get inked on the spot.
After Ten Tattoo
After Ten Tattoo was founded by Angel Reynosa, who opened the downtown El Paso location after years of running a successful studio in San Diego. Although Reynosa continues to operate both the California and El Paso locations, he emphasized that the El Paso shop holds special significance for him, as it brings him back to the city where he grew up.
The tattoo flash crawl was born from Reynosa’s vision, hoping to attract more people downtown.
“I’m trying to bring in a lot of the information that I’ve learned out there [in San Diego] here [to El Paso] and just spread it,” said Reynosa. “I figured what better way to do it then on September 15, a day dedicated to El Paso.”
Reynosa, along with the other participating shops, highlighted tattoo designs inspired by El Paso’s rich cultural symbols.
The turnout was immense. Both the exterior and interior of After Ten were filled with eager clients awaiting their turn as well as artists who helped participate in the event.
“We’re all united as a community. The different businesses, people, I mean we’re all networking,” said Reynosa. “I think that’s what’s the most important part of it is the network that we’ve been able to build today.”
Monolith Tattoo
Located just a block away from After Ten, is Monolith Tattoo. Owner John Sunderland saw the event as a chance for the three downtown shops to come together.
“We’re all friends—me, Angel at After Ten, and the guys at Sunset Tattoo,” said Sunderland. “And we thought it’d be cool if we all just worked together to make a cool event where we could all hang out and help people get cool tattoos.”
While working on a client, Sunderland explained the significance behind the piece he was tattooing — a flower design inspired by the poppies that bloom across the Franklin Mountains.
The shop was loud and lively, as each artist contributed their unique designs while also tattooing others’ work, allowing artists to learn more about one another and their own personal styles firsthand.
Sunderland described the energy in the shop as “an orchestra of tattoo machines, with everyone coming together to hang out.”
Sunset Tattoo
Sunset Tattoo, owned by Ralf Jauregui, was the third shop to participate in the tattoo flash crawl.
Jauregui highlighted the significance of the event in bringing people together post-pandemic. “We’ve all been down here for years, but after the pandemic, it was like- okay now we need to do something together,” said Jauregui. “It’s been really fun, the turnout was amazing. We’ve gotten to see a whole bunch of new faces, a bunch of familiar faces, but it’s cool to see everyone.”
Tattoo crawl attendee, Diego Carlos came to get a matching tattoo with his brother before he moved to Hawaii.
“It’s a good way to get people in a place and celebrate. They’re all El Paso themed stuff, so I really appreciate what they’re doing here,” said Carlos.
He selected a Lucha Libre mask design in Dallas Cowboys colors, calling it a tribute to his family and Texas roots.
The energy at Sunset Tattoo was electric, with bands like Darling May, Pretty Sour, and Sweet Ventura performing live, making the day feel like a festival. Ralf and his team were committed to tattooing as many people as possible, vowing to continue well into the night.
“We’ve still got two pages of people signed up,” said Ralf. “We’re going to keep going as long as people want to get tattooed.”
Tim Hernandez, a Professor at the University of Texas at El Paso, and one of the evening clients at Sunset, mentioned that he hopes events like these will become a tradition.
“I just like the culture, you know. I like being around artists and tattoos. It’s like living art,” said Hernandez. And it’s a beautiful community, a lot of cool folks, good people, creative souls, I like that.”
The 915 Tattoo Flash Crawl drew hundreds of El Pasoans to downtown. The event not only showcased the creative talent within the community but highlights the importance of celebrating El Paso’s culture, binational identity, and the lasting contributions of Latino people in the United States.
As Angel Reynosa, John Sunderland, and Ralf Jauregui reflected on the day, it was clear that this event was more than a one-time affair. Each of them expressed hopes to make the Tattoo Crawl an annual tradition that continues to grow and evolve in the years to come.
Rumi Sevilla is a staff reporter for The Prospector and may be reached at [email protected]
