Venezuelan tattoo artist creates graffiti mural for kids room at Wenatchee mission

WENATCHEE – Tattoo artist and immigrant Dario Rodriguez said he knows what it’s like to struggle to find a space where he belongs.

That’s why the 27-year-old said he volunteered to spray paint a graffiti mural inside the Lighthouse Christian Ministries facility for a potential new teen center.

“It makes me feel good and proud that I can give something back to Wenatchee,” Rodriguez said.

Five years ago, Rodriguez said he left his life selling water bottles and drawings on the streets of his native Venezuela for a better quality of life in Panama, where he worked odd jobs and continued selling art.

It was in Panama when someone told Rodriguez he should start doing tattoos. He said he wasn’t too sure at first because he had never done tattoos before, but it went well.

“It was when the pandemic happened, when I could focus 100% on tattooing and it took my art to another level,” Rodriguez said. “Where I was living in Panama I could practice more on my friends and clients for longer periods of time, and my art evolved. I became faster and made bigger tattoos because everything was closed and I literally had nothing else to do.”

It was February when Rodriguez was approved for humanitarian parole to live and work in the U.S., a status given to some Venezuelans fleeing their country, said his friend and manager, Cal Metcalf, 27.

They met in Panama and kept in touch over the years and traveled around Latin America, Metcalf said.

“He’s an amazing guy,” he added.

Rodriguez was going to move to Wenatchee to stay with Metcalf in April, but they were both worried the U.S. government would reverse the decision to allow immigrants into the country after watching news programs, Metcalf said.

Still, within 10 hours of learning he was approved to enter the U.S., Rodriguez packed up his things and was on a plane to Seattle, where he reunited with Metcalf to take him to Wenatchee.

With Metcalf’s marketing help, Rodriguez already had tattoo appointments lined up around the state when he arrived.

Rodriguez is currently working out of Ollie Tattoo Studio in Quincy and has around 14,000 followers on Instagram and 18,000 on TikTok. This summer, he has trips scheduled to do tattoos in Los Angeles, Houston, and Miami.

Adam Mitchell, children’s ministry director at Lighthouse Christian Ministries, said he was looking for a tattoo artist online, as he was thinking about getting a tattoo, when he saw an ad for Rodriguez.

“We were messaging back and forth and I just thought ‘I should ask him,’” Mitchell said.

But it wasn’t for a tattoo.

Mitchell instead thought Rodriguez could create a graffiti mural for a future teen center at Lighthouse Christian Ministries.

“I want it to be fun and something the kids will talk about,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell wants the mural to feature Jesus Christ in an urban setting, interacting with teenagers on skateboards with boomboxes, and dancing, and maybe feature a lowrider, he said.

Rodriguez is only a few days into the mural and expects it will take another 10 days to finish it. He said it was a hard mural he can only work on it when he doesn’t have tattoo appointments.

“It was a genuine idea to me. I like it a lot,” Rodriguez said. “The kids that will come in can identify with the mural, that Jesus Christ will always be there with them no matter where they are.”

Mitchell said he doesn’t know when the teen center, “The Hook,” will be open. He still has to find funding for the flooring and furniture and estimate how many staff or volunteers he would need. But he said he already has a vision of what the center will look like.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez offered to do the mural at 410 S. Columbia St. for free. Mitchell is providing the materials .

“I’m very fortunate that God has put the correct people in my life. Now I am in Wenatchee working, enjoying life,” Rodriguez said.

“To find someone to put in that much heart and that much passion to do it, I know it’s going to be awesome,” Mitchell said.

Rodriguez said he doesn’t know how long he is going to stay in Wenatchee.

“It could be months or a year; I’m feeling very free-spirited right now,” he said. “I always leave my footprint on people’s skin and on walls, too.”