One of the great things about tattooist Stefano Alcantara -- aside from his most excellent portfolio and super friendly personality -- is that he is on the road a great deal so you may actually score an appointment near you!

He's been at Last Rites tattooing these days, where he was a full time member of Paul Booth's family, but you can check his tour page and FB fan page to see where he'll be next.

Stefano's fine art work will be part of the "Zombie" exhibit, curated by Travis Louie, at Last Rites Gallery, which opens May 25th and runs until June 26th. 

Tattoo above by Cecil Porter

While I still find more tattoo odes to ODB than MLK, I'm heartened that, every year on this Martin Luther King Jr Day, there are more people commemorating his legacy on their skin. It's particularly fitting that MLK day is celebrated this year on the second Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama -- and I particularly love this President Obama tattoo with Martin Luther King Jr looking on behind him, created by Stefano Alcantara. A snip of the tattoo image is below.

As I wrote last year, one of the greatest things about tattoos is that they inspire communication. People are naturally curious over what others painstakingly and permanently put in their own skins. We hunger for a good story ... and many of us hunger to tell one. A mother may want you to know that the name above her heart is her beloved daughter. The veteran with the memorial tattoo on his arm lets you know about the courage of his lost friend. This communicative value also allows for teaching moments. A Dr. King tribute speaks not only about the how the activist inspired the tattoo collector but may also educate another who does not know of King's life and legacy. 

It's powerful, what tattoos can do. And it's why I appreciate it when I do find tributes to inspiring figures, as they can be daily reminders to be better to each other and ourselves.

Below are some MLK tattoos we've featured in past posts -- beautiful tributes worth taking a second look.

Tattoos (above left to right) by Joshua Carlton, Mike DeMasi, and Logan Aguilar. 

Illustrating just how artful and interesting a family tribute tattoo can be is this sleeve (in progress) by the wonderful Stefano Alcantara of Paul Booth's Last Rites Tattoo Theater.

The work is on native New Yorker Cesar who began the sleeve -- his very first tattoo -- with a reflection of himself being put together by demons (shown below) on the top portion of his arm. The work then moves down to his forearm with a portrait of his 6-year-old son (above), to be followed by another portrait of his other son. Cesar will also add a work commemorating his French bulldog that passed.

Looking forward to seeing how Stefano brings it all together.