‘Vogue Philippines’ Make History With 106-Year-Old Apo Maria Oggay on the Cover: ‘Strength and Beauty’

usmagazine.com:

Herstory. Vogue Philippines tapped a 106-year-old legend to grace the cover of the magazine’s beauty issue. The cover, which debuted online on Thursday, March 30, features Filipino tattooist Apo Maria ‘Whang-Od’ Oggay — Vogue’s oldest-ever cover model.

The artist is a breathtaking sight on the front page, donning a jeweled headband, tiny hoop earrings and a bold red lip. She also wore a layered bead necklace, a black tank — that exposed her extensive body art — and a patterned skirt.  “Apo Maria ‘Whang-Od’ Oggay symbolizes the strength and beauty of the Filipino spirit,” the publication wrote via Instagram, announcing the issue on Thursday, March 30. “Heralded as the last mambabatok of her generation, she has imprinted the symbols of the Kalinga tribe—signifying strength, bravery, and beauty — on the skin of thousands of people who have made the pilgrimage to Buscalan.”  The issue highlights Oggay’s life-long work with ink, which began when she was only 16, learning from her father.

In her community tattooist or “mambatoks” use a hand-tapping technique — a traditional tattooing method that does not use machines or modern equipment to put ink inside the skin.

Oggay broke tradition by learning the process as hand-tapping teaching was traditionally passed down to men. In order to view the video, please allow Manage Cookies Per practice, Oggay can only share her tattoo knowledge with her bloodline — and because she has no children of her own, she pours her wisdom into her grandniece, Grace Palicas.    “I was the first child to learn how to tattoo,” Palicas, 26, told Vogue. “When I left for college in 2015, [my cousin] Elyang was next to learn so that she could help Apo when so many tourists were coming.”    Oggay and