His body is his canvas

Tattoo artist “Dragon Edong” takes his craft seriously and he has his own skin to prove it.

If you asked Dragon Edong to count the number of tattoos on his skin, he would tell you he’s got only one. But it would probably interest you to know that, that one tattoo covers more than half of his body.

Edong’s tattoo features at least three different designs. On his back is his award-winning dragon and a Filipino warrior design. His arm, chest, and left leg are adorned by Japanese tattoo art. His right leg is inked with tribal art.

“For me, having a tattoo is like asserting your individuality. It makes you different from others,” he says in an interview.

Originally from Quezon City in the Philippines, Edward Maximo Elenzano has art in his blood. His uncle’s paintings and sculpture stirred up his artistic tendency from age 5. While in high school, Edong helped his eldest brother make banners and streamers.

But Edong is the first in his family to pursue art as a profession. (Another relative, however, has since followed Edong’s steps. His nephew, Alpog Arao, is also a tattoo artist currently working at Edong’s tattoo shop.)

After obtaining a fine arts degree from one of the Philippines’ largest universities, Edong traveled to Japan in 1980 to learn the highly skilled art of tattooing. For five years, he worked in a Kanawaga hotel while he took informal lessons from a Japanese tattoo master.

Edong further enhanced his skill by working as an art director for an advertising company in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

He came to Saipan in 1988 to render perspectives for a now defunct architectural and engineering firm. He has also served for one year as an artist for Hyatt Regency Saipan.

In 1993, he opened Megavision El Drako Tattoo, a Garapan-based tattoo shop visited by both local residents and tourists.

“El Drako,” of course, reflects Edong’s fascination with the powerful, although mythical dragon—a common symbol of identity for East Asian cultures.

Although his shop takes much of his time, Edong rarely misses opportunities to participate in various tattoo contests. He used to compete a lot, but winning all the time has got him booted out of most competitions, at least as a contender.

Now, his fellow artists would rather have Edong serve as judge.

His latest victory occurred at the World Tattoo Arts Festival and Exhibition held in Bangkok, Thailand on Feb. 10-12, 2006.

As a Philippine representative, Edong bagged the award for “Best Dragon” design, using his body as a canvas. He beat artists from the United States, Japan, Italy, Russia, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, China, Austria, The Netherlands, France, Belgium, Malaysia, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Thailand.

Edong related in a recent press release that he and his nephew Alpog planned his winning piece one month before the competition. For five straight days, he endured the pain of needle to skin to bring their vision to fruition.

He also served as one of the judges in the Best Creation category during the Bangkok event.

Given his achievements, however, tattooing is far from becoming the end-all, be-all of Edong’s existence.

He is also an active members of the Dekada movement, a group of long-time CNMI nonresidents pushing for permanent residency in the Commonwealth.

Although he claims to be not much of a singer, Edong can be seen at Mount Carmel Cathedral rehearsing with the Glory Dei Choir every Friday and singing with the group during the Sunday Tagalog mass.

Indeed, Edong is a walking disclaimer to the notion that tattooed people are never up to any good.

“I really hope people will be more open-minded about tattoos. Tattooing is a custom that goes back to prehistoric times. If people ask me why I have a tattoo, I always ask them back why they don’t have one. We all have our reasons,” he says.