News & Events
September 15th, 2023
ABC National News
Freddy will be on ABC national news on Friday, September 15th at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The piece will talk about Chicano history through art. Freddy is joining three other artists to talk about the culture and their art styles. You can view it on ABC News Live and they will be posting the package by itself and it will also be included in their Hulu special for Hispanic Heritage Month.
September 15th, 2023
ABC National News
Freddy will be on ABC national news on Friday, September 15th at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. The piece will talk about Chicano history through art. Freddy is joining three other artists to talk about the culture and their art styles. You can view it on ABC News Live and they will be posting the package by itself and it will also be included in their Hulu special for Hispanic Heritage Month.
October 4th, 2018
A Tragedy in the Tattoo Parlor
Jacob Bernstein from the New York Times talks to Freddy about his life and the loss of his two sons, Isaiah and Lorenzo.
October 4th, 2018
A Tragedy in the Tattoo Parlor
Jacob Bernstein from the New York Times talks to Freddy about his life and the loss of his two sons, Isaiah and Lorenzo.
April 15, 2018 NPR
Black And Gray … And Brown: A Tattoo Style’s Chicano Roots. NPR’s Code Switch presenter Shereen Marisol Maraji talks to Freddy Negrete and Chuey Quintanar about Black and Gray’s Chicano roots.
April 15, 2018 NPR
Black And Gray … And Brown: A Tattoo Style’s Chicano Roots. NPR’s Code Switch presenter Shereen Marisol Maraji talks to Freddy Negrete and Chuey Quintanar about Black and Gray’s Chicano roots.
March 27th 2018 Vicki Abelson
Freddy Negrete appeared on ‘Vicki Abelson’s Women Who Write’ renowned celebrity-driven literary salon with actor Eric Roberts and songwriter/musician Harold Payne. Freddy is introduced at ca. 33 min in this full Facebook Live re-play which you can view by clicking the button below.
March 27th 2018 Vicki Abelson
Freddy Negrete appeared on ‘Vicki Abelson’s Women Who Write’ renowned celebrity-driven literary salon with actor Eric Roberts and songwriter/musician Harold Payne. Freddy is introduced at ca. 33 min in this full Facebook Live re-play which you can view by clicking the button above.
January 2018 Recovery Today
Freddy Negrete is featured in the January, 2018 edition of Recovery Today. Subscribe for FREE at www.recoverytodaymagazine.com
January 2018 Recovery Today
Freddy Negrete is featured in the January, 2018 edition of Recovery Today. Subscribe for FREE at www.recoverytodaymagazine.com
January 2018 Keys to Recovery Newspaper
Download Steve Jones’ article in the ‘Keys to Recovery’ newspaper’s January 2017 edition entitled ‘How I met Freddy Negrete and why I co-wrote his memoir, Smile Now, Cry Later.’
January 2018 Keys to Recovery Newspaper
Download Steve Jones’ article in the ‘Keys to Recovery’ newspaper’s January 2017 edition entitled ‘How I met Freddy Negrete and why I co-wrote his memoir, Smile Now, Cry Later.’
DECEMBER The Fix
Tattoos, Prison, and Recovery: An Interview with Freddy Negrete By Steve Jones 12/04/17
These past 10 years have been the most amazing years of my whole life. I’ve gotten closer to God and I’m doing the best work that I’ve ever done in my life. Now I’m able to live my life, to just be me, without a drug or alcohol taking over my mind and my body.
DECEMBER The Fix
Tattoos, Prison, and Recovery: An Interview with Freddy Negrete By Steve Jones 12/04/17
These past 10 years have been the most amazing years of my whole life. I’ve gotten closer to God and I’m doing the best work that I’ve ever done in my life. Now I’m able to live my life, to just be me, without a drug or alcohol taking over my mind and my body.
NOVEMBER Tattoo Exhibition
LA Weekly: Natural History Museum’s “Tattoo” Exhibit Details L.A.’s Traditional and Chicano Tattoo Histories
From beginning to end, the exhibit covers a lot of ground, from 5,000-year-old tribal tattoos customary in primitive societies to tattoos used for identification (as they were during the Holocaust) to ultra-modern day-glo tattoos that look futuristic enough to seem unreal.
NOVEMBER Tattoo Exhibition
LA Weekly: Natural History Museum’s “Tattoo” Exhibit Details L.A.’s Traditional and Chicano Tattoo Histories
From beginning to end, the exhibit covers a lot of ground, from 5,000-year-old tribal tattoos customary in primitive societies to tattoos used for identification (as they were during the Holocaust) to ultra-modern day-glo tattoos that look futuristic enough to seem unreal.
NOVEMBER Tattoo Exhibition
Los Angeles Daily News: Here’s why the Natural History Museum is covered in tattoos
Tattoo artist Freddy Negrete, works a tattoo on fellow tattoo artist Louis Perez, left, at the Natural History Museum Parlor as the museum is opening an exhibition on Nov. 19 that looks at the 5,000-year history of tattooing, as well as the art connected to ink and LA’s own tattoo culture in Los Angeles Wednesday, November 15, 2017.
NOVEMBER Tattoo Exhibition
Los Angeles Daily News: Here’s why the Natural History Museum is covered in tattoos
Tattoo artist Freddy Negrete, works a tattoo on fellow tattoo artist Louis Perez, left, at the Natural History Museum Parlor as the museum is opening an exhibition on Nov. 19 that looks at the 5,000-year history of tattooing, as well as the art connected to ink and LA’s own tattoo culture in Los Angeles Wednesday, November 15, 2017.
NOVEMBER Tattoo Exhibition
Tattoo you: Freddy Negrete, the black-and-gray style and an L.A. museum’s new interactive exhibition
Freddy Negrete was 18 and serving time in a juvenile detention facility when the image came to him: the Greek masks of comedy and tragedy paired with the catchphrase “Smile Now, Cry Later.” It was 1974 and Negrete, a member of San Gabriel’s La Sangra gang, was incarcerated for a gang-related shooting.
NOVEMBER Tattoo Exhibition
Tattoo you: Freddy Negrete, the black-and-gray style and an L.A. museum’s new interactive exhibition
Freddy Negrete was 18 and serving time in a juvenile detention facility when the image came to him: the Greek masks of comedy and tragedy paired with the catchphrase “Smile Now, Cry Later.” It was 1974 and Negrete, a member of San Gabriel’s La Sangra gang, was incarcerated for a gang-related shooting.
OCTOBER LA Weekly Profile on Freddy’s son, Isaiah:
The Son of One of L.A.’s Most Famous Tattoo Artists Is Breathing New Life Into His Last Name
“I’ve always liked art, so with my dad being so good at it and me being exposed to it, there really wasn’t much else I could’ve done,” Negrete says. “I dropped out of school in ninth grade when my dad had a tattoo shop in Santa Barbara, so I started tattooing. It was just something I loved to do, and I saw a future in it for myself.”
OCTOBER LA Weekly Profile on Freddy’s son, Isaiah:
The Son of One of L.A.’s Most Famous Tattoo Artists Is Breathing New Life Into His Last Name
“I’ve always liked art, so with my dad being so good at it and me being exposed to it, there really wasn’t much else I could’ve done,” Negrete says. “I dropped out of school in ninth grade when my dad had a tattoo shop in Santa Barbara, so I started tattooing. It was just something I loved to do, and I saw a future in it for myself.”
AUGUST
Some Cast Members From ‘Blood In Blood Out’ Reunited For A Screening In L.A.
Here’s a list of cast members from left to right: Ray Oriel (Spider), Carlos Carrasco (Popeye), Freddy Negrete (Tattoo Artist), Enrique Castillo (Montana), Victor Rivers (Magic Mike), Jenny Gago (Lupe), Raymond Cruz (Chuy), Jesse Borrego (Cruz), Valente Rodriguez (Frankie) and Geoffery Rivas (Carlos).
AUGUST
Some Cast Members From ‘Blood In Blood Out’ Reunited For A Screening In L.A.
Here’s a list of cast members from left to right: Ray Oriel (Spider), Carlos Carrasco (Popeye), Freddy Negrete (Tattoo Artist), Enrique Castillo (Montana), Victor Rivers (Magic Mike), Jenny Gago (Lupe), Raymond Cruz (Chuy), Jesse Borrego (Cruz), Valente Rodriguez (Frankie) and Geoffery Rivas (Carlos).
JULY The Los Angeles Review of Books review of Smile Now, Cry Later
Black-and-Gray Realism
IN MANY WAYS, Freddy Negrete’s life is the life of Los Angeles. It is a life lived out on the edge, mapping the fringes of the city’s experience, showcasing the dramatic contours of the Wild West. It traces the story of a throbbing postwar Los Angeles sprawl, but also unpacks the unique drama of Negrete himself, the gangbanger-turned-artist.
JULY The Los Angeles Review of Books review of Smile Now, Cry Later
Black-and-Gray Realism
IN MANY WAYS, Freddy Negrete’s life is the life of Los Angeles. It is a life lived out on the edge, mapping the fringes of the city’s experience, showcasing the dramatic contours of the Wild West. It traces the story of a throbbing postwar Los Angeles sprawl, but also unpacks the unique drama of Negrete himself, the gangbanger-turned-artist.
JULY Tatuaje, 2017 — Art curated by Freddy
3rd Annual Tatuaje Event
TATUAJE celebrates the distinct tattoo culture of Los Angeles while raising funds to benefit Plaza de La Raza, a nonprofit organization, with a multidisciplinary community arts venue dedicated to serving the Eastside neighborhoods of Los Angeles. “It has one of the best arts education programs for children,” said Pelayo.
JULY Tatuaje, 2017 — Art curated by Freddy
3rd Annual Tatuaje Event
TATUAJE celebrates the distinct tattoo culture of Los Angeles while raising funds to benefit Plaza de La Raza, a nonprofit organization, with a multidisciplinary community arts venue dedicated to serving the Eastside neighborhoods of Los Angeles. “It has one of the best arts education programs for children,” said Pelayo.
APRIL Los Angeles Festival of Books
Negrete’s memoir “Smile Now, Cry Later” is a riveting narrative that takes the reader from Freddy’s days as a cholo gang member to pioneering black-and-gray tattoo artist to evangelical preacher to Hollywood body-art consultant to addiction counselor. His story is a testament to the spark within us all that gives us the strength to survive and transform what would otherwise destroy us.
APRIL Los Angeles Festival of Books
Negrete’s memoir “Smile Now, Cry Later” is a riveting narrative that takes the reader from Freddy’s days as a cholo gang member to pioneering black-and-gray tattoo artist to evangelical preacher to Hollywood body-art consultant to addiction counselor. His story is a testament to the spark within us all that gives us the strength to survive and transform what would otherwise destroy us.
AUGUST 2016 LA Weekly profile
How East L.A. Tattoo Legend Freddy Negrete Helped Chicano Gang Tattoos Evolve Into a Beloved Art Form
You may think your favorite artist is an O.G. of the tattoo world. But compared with Freddy Negrete, almost everyone else is still a rookie. As one of the most experienced and influential tattoo artists in the world, Negrete was already making a name for himself before many of today’s top tattooers could walk.
AUGUST 2016 LA Weekly profile
How East L.A. Tattoo Legend Freddy Negrete Helped Chicano Gang Tattoos Evolve Into a Beloved Art Form
You may think your favorite artist is an O.G. of the tattoo world. But compared with Freddy Negrete, almost everyone else is still a rookie. As one of the most experienced and influential tattoo artists in the world, Negrete was already making a name for himself before many of today’s top tattooers could walk.
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