Epifania Maria de Jesus Mendes, of Sobradinho, Brazil, got her first tat at the tender age of 98 – and has vowed “I’m not going to stop.
Epifania Maria de Jesus Mendes got her fourth tattoo for her 105th birthday Credit: Newsflash
She is hoping to get her name in the Guinness World Records for the oldest woman to get a tattoo Credit: Newsflash
Last week she got a golden key inked on her arm, along with the phrase ‘So o amor constroi’ (‘Only love builds’), to celebrate her latest birthday.
And she is now seeking another belated present – to get her name in the Guinness World Records for the oldest woman to get a tattoo.
With her latest inking, Granny Pifa now boasts four tats, which include a hummingbird drinking nectar on one thigh and a red rose on the other.
The first tattoo she got was of a floral arrangement. The second was a hummingbird, in 2015, and the third was a rose.
All four designs were inked by her trusted tattooist, Flavio Araujo. And Granny Pifa says she has no plans to stop.
Granny Pifa was born in Correntina, in the state of Bahia, in north-eastern Brazil, in 1917. She went on to have an astonishing 18 children.
Adding up her kids, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren and her great-great-grandchildren, she boasts a family of more than 100 people.
Her grandson, a musician named Engels, accompanied her for her latest tat. He said: “The tattoo idea first came on her 90th birthday.
“I thought it was a joke, but she took it seriously. Not only did she get that one, but she got others at the age of 98 and 101.”
Engels, who is from the south-eastern Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, said the family tried to talk her out of getting more tattoos, but to no avail.
He recalled: “Because of her health, we tried to convince her, but it was impossible. She swore at me and said she had 18 children and it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Her latest tat reads ‘So o amor constroi’ (‘Only love builds’) Credit: Newsflash
