Though popular legend says that vampires must eschew direct light to survive, one 'vampire' has thrived in the spotlight recently. And really, it takes a lot to stand out at a tattoo convention where a man was suspended from hooks in his skin, but leave it up to Maria Jose Cristerna, the famous Mexican "Vampire Woman," to do just that.
Cristerna attended the Venezuelan Tattoo Expo on Jan. 28 in Caracas, Fox News reports. According to Agence France Presse, more than 200 tattoo artists from a dozen countries attended the event, but Cristerna's titanium horns, dental "fangs" and numerous facial piercings drew particular attention, even among other tattoo aficionados.
"My body transformation has been a part of taking my taste to the extreme," Cristerna told AFP. "Life is short and sometimes we waste it on many things, so I've chosen beauty. And for me it's beautiful to be this way, so that's why I do it."
Last September, Ripley's Believe It or Not! took full-body casts of Cristerna to produce wax figures of her likeness for display at museums around the world -- bringing her one step closer to immortality.
Check out the pictures below from the Venezuela Tattoo Expo and an interview The Telegraph conducted with the Mexican "Vampire Woman."
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