‘Fly high’: New Yorkers commemorate Flaco’s journey with tattoos
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Danny Lewis will never forget seeing Flaco the owl with his now-wife in Central Park, well before he had the owl permanently etched on his left arm.
Looking up at the “goofy” bird perched 40 feet above, he was struck by how he, a New York City native and his wife, a transplant, could connect to Flaco all the same.
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“He really had this beautiful New York story,” Lewis said of Flaco. “So much about him was so the best of New Yorkers.”
Flaco grew to celebrity status after he was freed from the Central Park Zoo in February 2023 and unexpectedly survived living in the city for a year before his sudden death on Feb. 23. His “brave” journey has inspired some New Yorkers to commemorate Flaco with ink.
Lewis got his tattoo before Flaco died, depicting him as he is often remembered, perched on a branch in Central Park.
As a New Yorker who used to carry a plush Snowy owl around the city and a new bird-watcher, Lewis was immediately taken by Flaco’s story. He spotted Flaco two times and even incorporated the owl into his wedding last April.
For Lewis, the tattoo is a symbol of a beautiful time in his relationship and lovely moments with strangers looking up at Flaco.
“I was just taken by this big, beautiful, goofy bird,” Lewis said. “I’m really thankful that I have [the tattoo] and got it when I did.”
Calicho Arevalo — an artist who was seen spray painting on attendees’ clothes at Flaco’s Central Park memorial — got his Flaco tattoo after the owl died. His self-designed tattoo, placed on his left arm, depicts the owl flying away from his branch in New York City.
“It’s such a powerful moment,” Arevalo said. “I see the bird as a parallel to me.”
Just like Flaco flew from the zoo to the north end of the park, so too did Arevalo leave his home in Colombia for New York City, ultimately risking his stable architecture job to pursue art full-time.
“I’m also trusting my instincts,” he said.
Arevalo’s friend, Felipe Umbral, did his Flaco tattoo for free and the two went to Flaco’s funeral together.
For Arevalo, Flaco symbolizes bravery, freedom and community, and his tattoo is a commemoration of an influential time in his artistic career.
He said he knows his experience with Flaco is shared and may offer tattoo templates for others.
Upper East Side resident and bird-watcher Liz Weiss has seen Flaco many times, and she’s considering using another artist’s Flaco tattoo design.
Weiss is very particular about her tattoos, so when she saw artist Duke Riley post a memorial Flaco tattoo concept on Instagram, she knew it would be her next piece.
Born in captivity and surviving in New York City against all odds, Flaco became almost a mythical being capable of inspiring an entire community, Weiss said. Flaco changed the way Weiss looks at nature, birds and her neighborhood, she said.
“Finding out he was gone, it’s just like being woken up from some kind of dream,” Weiss said.
Should she go through with it, her Flaco tattoo would be a “tribute to all things in the wild that we’re rooting for,” she said.
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And as the seasons change, so too does the “lore” of New York City – but Flaco has the chance to be permanently etched in the city’s history.
“We were his community, [or] we maybe wanted to think we were,” Weiss said.
Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter from Los Angeles who has covered local news for years. She has been with PIX11 since 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter.
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