This weekend, we were saddened to learn of the death of Jose Carrera, the owner of Ochoplacas Tattoo Company.
I first met Jose a few months ago when Miami Swag covered Ochoplacas’ fist ever 305 Day. I had heard about Jose’s accomplishments through so many people, whether it was his amazing tattoos, his diverse artwork and even touring with rapper Birdman. He seemed like a superstar.
When I met him for the interview, he didn’t speak much about what made him great in the eyes of others. He downplayed his touring stint with Birdman and talked about how he enjoyed dealing with everyday people more and how they were rock stars in his eyes. He spoke about giving up a convention in Switzerland, so he could stay and tattoo in Miami. He spoke about his crew of artists, praising their talents and even writing each one’s name in my notebook, so they wouldn’t get misspelled. He talked about doing graffiti and we compared all the artists we both knew and all the pennants that he used to hit up. He spoke about artists, the ones that influenced him and the up and coming ones he liked. But the most touching moment of our interview was when he showed me the hidden messages for his family in the walls and counters of Ochoplacas. He beamed with pride when pointing them out and talking about his wife and his step kids.
He didn’t portray himself as a superstar. He was a humble man who cared about his family, his art, his crew of artists, and his work. It was what made his life.
And that’s what really made him a superstar.
Miami has lost more than just one of the city’s best tattoo artists. It lost a business owner, a mentor, a husband, and a father. It also lost one of its favorite sons.
Funeral arrangements for Jose will be held today at Bernardo Garcia Funeral Home on 8215 Bird Road, Miami, Florida at 5pm.
Jose’s family has also set up a website in honor of him. Please visit www.joseluiscarrera.com and sign his Guest Book.
They are also looking for any pictures of Jose and his artwork, whether it be a tattoo or on canvas.
On behalf of Miami Swag, our thoughts and prayers are with Jose’s family, his family at Ochoplacas and Miami’s tattoo community.
RIP Jose. You will be missed.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 8:54 am and is filed under Newz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.