Filipino Americans Meet Whang Od: Legendary Tattoo Artist of Buscalan - Ink and Identity Part 2/3

Added: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]Do you ever think you're going to get a tattoo?

[00:00:04]Got a freaking flat tire. Oh my gosh.

[00:00:07]>> No cell phone coverage, no nothing. Got a flat tire. And it's late and we have to be careful. Why did I name the group chat surviving us?

[00:00:15]>> [laughter] [music] >> Hi, good morning. Well, we're going to Buscalan. I'm just loading up some things, but I'm still very moved with the conversation with Manong Kidlat yesterday about gin hawa and the indigenous.

[00:00:32]>> Gin hawa is just to be able to There's that comfort being at home in the world. But now we're moving on. So, let's switch to Tony. What's your expectation on Buscalan? Oh, I'm excited. I'm all excited. Waiting to see what happens tomorrow, so expectations are pretty high and I know it's going to be good and I'm going to get my first tattoo. Either here Excited. Kinakabahan.

[00:00:56]I did not tell my parents. As what Michael said, it's better to Ask for forgiveness, not permission. Ask for forgiveness, bro. It's already banned.

[00:01:06]Thank you for the advice, bro. We'll listen.

[00:01:10]>> [laughter] [laughter] >> Buscalan.

[00:01:25]>> [music] >> I feel like I got this sense yesterday that you really [music] wanted to know Kidlat's view on this gin hawa.

[00:01:36]Yeah, Christian, I'm trying to understand it myself. [music] Where are you at now? What's the gin hawa for you, Tony?

[00:01:44]I can't have gin [music] hawa if my people don't have gin hawa. To me, it's like all in one.

[00:01:51]If I'm connected to them and they're [music] connected to me, we don't get it unless we all have it. If we're one [music] Filipino, meaning that we are all connected to one another, then it's all [music] of us together.

[00:02:06]Okay? And that's that's the beauty that if I'm you and you're me and you're me and I'm you and Von and I are connected in that [music] way, then that connection of all of us is batok that's togetherness.

[00:02:20]Okay, in a way, in a deep way, in a [music] really deep way. And if that is the source of our strength as a people, [music] then that's the goal.

[00:02:29]Is can we all have each other's back? Having everyone's [music] well-being in mind, in presence and in spirit and in action.

[00:02:40]If we're the same person, my success is your success.

[00:02:44]If we're the same person, [music] my suffering's your suffering. Ah, you see?

[00:02:49]>> [music] >> We have a innate responsibility to one another. If one person is [music] down, then there's a responsibility to bring that person [music] up. It's a community coming together and saying, "This is who we are. We are a batok people. We take care of one another."

[00:03:09]And that's greatness.

[00:03:12]That is greatness.

[00:03:13]And that is gin [music] hawa to me.

[00:03:35]It started to rain really badly. And then, got a freaking flat [music] tire.

[00:03:46]No cell phone coverage, no nothing. We got a flat tire. So, we grabbed the spare, [music] which was all the way underneath all of our bags in the back.

[00:03:55]So, we had to move all of our stuff out of the way.

[00:04:01]But when we finally got it out, the spare is flat, too.

[00:04:11]What do we do now?

[00:04:13]>> [music] >> Sure enough, first person that comes about, they stop to come and help us.

[00:04:30]It's a father and a son and without hesitation, [music] they offered to help us.

[00:04:50]We ended up fixing this [music] tire and when it was all said and done, we were just so appreciative for this father and son and it wasn't a big deal. It was [music] just understood.

[00:05:00]That someone was going to come and help us and we're going to get it handled. It wasn't [music] a big deal.

[00:05:06]But you want to know what the big deal was?

[00:05:09]It wasn't a big deal.

[00:05:11]See that?

[00:05:11]>> [music] >> It isn't a big deal.

[00:05:14]Because we have each other.

[00:05:17]It was already pretty dark by the [music] time we got to the end of our drive.

[00:05:21]But we all got there safe and sound.

[00:05:28]Enjoy.

[00:05:32]Family. If you have your cell phones, you can turn them on we have two local guides.

[00:05:44]And then the tail will be Mama Mila.

[00:05:56]Where's Where's Michael?

[00:05:58]What are your thoughts right now? Why did I name the group chat surviving us?

[00:06:03]>> [laughter] >> Did you foresee this event?

[00:06:09]No no comment.

[00:06:10]>> [laughter] >> The main thing about the Filipino story team, I'm just a volunteer for this.

[00:06:17]Napansin ko, they have this 'yung dinidescribe nila na Filipino heart.

[00:06:22]Parang madali sila pakisamahan talaga.

[00:06:24]They're very warm. They're super ano, jolly pa rin despite dun sa mga challenges. It's dark and it's late and we have to be careful. Okay, and I want to make sure we don't lose anybody. Uh walang iwanan, right? Okay.

[00:06:37]Let's go.

[00:06:41]Be careful, everybody.

[00:06:42]Okay.

[00:06:45]Flat tire.

[00:06:47]So, this is a cable bridge. I don't know how many feet is down there, but [music] I'm glad it's night. Who would have thought you'd be doing this, Raff?

[00:06:56]Dangling on top of a cliff. You know, Tony, I wouldn't [music] have thought that your phone call would end up with this.

[00:07:09]Christian, how are you? I'm good.

[00:07:11]>> [laughter] >> Yes.

[00:07:21]Ah, we made it.

[00:07:37]>> [music] >> It's a repeated act.

[00:07:48]And then it leaves a mark.

[00:07:51]And then the more you repeat it, [music] must deeply 'yung mark mag-stay sa balat mo.

[00:07:58]>> [music] >> The Filipino story sa akin, it didn't really made [music] that lasting mark again. But they made me feel a certain way and I consistently feel it.

[00:08:09]>> [music] >> That consistency, that is what will give us 'yung long-lasting [music] mark.

[00:08:16]I'm inspired.

[00:08:18]At 'yung paulit-ulit na 'yun, just like 'yung tattoo na paulit-ulit binabatik, [music] they have something similar. They leave a mark through that consistency and repeated acts.

[00:08:38]>> [laughter] >> One One to 10.

[00:08:49]For me, Whang-Od's legacy is to keep [music] the existence ng kanyang kultura and I think it's a way of supporting Whang-Od's work >> [music] >> if you get a tattoo from her successors.

[00:09:20]Good morning. It is 8:45. We're here in Buscalan.

[00:09:25]We're on the queue to have our tattoos done by Apo Whang-Od. A little nervous.

[00:09:31]>> [laughter] >> I mean, I've heard so much about her, but just going to be an honor. An absolute honor to have my first tattoo done by her and what that means to me is going to be very important. I'm excited.

[00:09:50]This way [music] to Whang-Od.

[00:10:20]>> [music] [music] >> Sitting there waiting to get a tattoo, I was nervous. I mean, I was sweating.

[00:10:33]It wasn't really hot up there.

[00:10:35]It was actually cool. But, here's this legend who I don't think she knows she's a legend.

[00:10:42]How's that?

[00:10:43]Man.

[00:10:45]I don't think [music] she knows. I I must have seen 25 people get tattooed.

[00:10:50]And there's this consistency [music] of how she was treating everybody.

[00:10:55]Just big time legendary.

[00:10:59]And then we're like right here. [music] Those are the meaning of the three dots.

[00:11:04]Oh, what are they? They're Whang-od the center and her two successors. [music] Ah.

[00:11:11]Have you decided where? Just right here.

[00:11:14]As I was [music] getting closer and closer to getting my tattoo, I was originally going to have it here so I could hide it. I told my wife before we got cut [music] off in the call that I was going to put it here and hide it underneath the sleeve.

[00:11:29]>> [music] >> Yeah. It's better that I see it.

[00:11:34]Last minute I changed it to [music] here. No, just right here in the lab.

[00:11:38]It's a doing sensation. Oh, okay.

[00:11:42]This way I can see it as a reminder of who I am.

[00:11:46]>> [music] >> It's Whang-od's signature and I'm going to define it on what it means to me.

[00:11:53]Kapwa.

[00:11:55]The core value of the Filipino.

[00:11:58]Bayanihan.

[00:12:00]Our togetherness and when we all come [music] together, everything's possible. And the last is Kabutihang Loob.

[00:12:08]There's an innate goodness [music] that we are as a people that it's not work. The kindness [music] is genuine.

[00:12:17]This is my existence system.

[00:12:19]If I wake up in the morning and I'm [music] pissed and I don't want to be Filipino and I want to be in the matrix, [music] this is a reminder that I'm a Filipino.

[00:12:29]Period.

[00:12:30]And that will set forth my day to who I am.

[00:12:34]>> [music] >> I'll see.

[00:12:42]Hurts.

[00:12:43]>> [laughter] >> It's hurting more now.

[00:12:51]>> [laughter] >> You know, I asked her a question. I said, "Apo, what is your Filipino dream for the Filipino people?"

[00:13:20]She said that more people [music] would just come. Come to this village even after she's gone.

[00:13:27]Because her story is what brought ginhawa to her [music] community and she wants that ginhawa to keep flowing.

[00:13:33]And it's ginhawa in the in the form [music] of tourism and business. Yes.

[00:13:38]But, it's also ginhawa in the form of preserving [music] her culture.

[00:13:41]And this this tattoo that I got from her represents [music] that preservation that she yearns for in her dream. Because my dream's the same.

[00:13:52]The preservation of a way that we are as a people [music] that I'm just so damn impressed with.

[00:13:57]It just continues >> [music] >> to blow me away.

[00:14:01]And if there's one lesson that I learned from Whang-od [music] was simply, "I'm just going to be one with all of you and I'm going to give you the same amount of time that you all deserve. And I'm going to give you three dots because I want to make sure I give everybody a piece of me. And [music] if my story is going to help the global Filipino in understanding [music] the greatness that we are as a people, then so be it. That would be it. And that would be [music] my the lesson that I got from Apo Whang-od."

[00:14:41]I said it hurt a little bit and she started hitting it harder.

[00:14:46]>> [laughter]