My first two days in Mexico City weren’t spent doing much of anything cultural – it was Sunday and Monday and most things are closed – so it was a nice change of pace to start seeing some art, and exploring other areas of the city. I’ve packed a lot of art in, in between meals – truly, my days are scheduled around reservations or the knowledge of where my next meal will be – and it started with trips to see where Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived and worked.

Frida and Diego are obviously incredibly important in Mexico (City,) and their presence is very visible here. Unfortunately, the large collection of Frida’s works that are housed in the city are on loan in Milan right now, but I still went to her house, Casa Azul, as well as the studio spaces for both of them. It was cool to see the places they spent much of their time, and how that clearly informed the art.

Casa Azul was the family home of Frida’s – she was both born and died there. It’s located in Colonia Coyoacan, a quaint cobblestone neighborhood where the bright colors normally associated with the city can be found. Many artists and bohemians resided here, as did Cortes after the conquest of Mexico. Frida’s father built the house in the early 1900s, but it was Diego and Frida who gave it the decor and style that is housed in the museum today. The vibrant blue is iconic! And the collections of knick knacks, gifts from friends and houseguests (artists and politicians), sculptures, etc. on the property really give you a sense for who these artists were. I wasn’t able to “legally” take photos inside the house (I didn’t realize you had to prepay 30pesos, read:$1-2USD, for that ability), but I still managed to snag a couple. I especially loved their kitchen and its personalization! Why doesn’t anyone do this today? And in the absence of my own pics, a few links to some of my favorite works inside the house (thanks to Google Arts & Culture!).

 

 

Marxism Will Bring Health to the Sick

Still Life

Self Portrait In A Velvet Dress

Frida was, and is, a fashion icon. Her style was actually oftentimes dictated by her physical ailments – looking for ways to cover up her imperfections – but has become iconic for all nonetheless. The focus on her body and its ailments was a large part of her identity, and along with her culture and ethnicity, can be seen in both her work and her style.

“Frida is the sole example in art history of someone who has torn open her breast and her heart in order to tell the biological truth of what she feels inside them” – Diego

*Note the wedge on her boot to make her short leg even…and the hairpiece/the braid on the wig display mannequin.

And one last nice touch in the main house to share – a poem by Patti Smith, written on one of the exterior walls. She visited Casa Azul and played a few songs there when in town for her first ever show in Mexico (2012). Clearly inspired by the collection of butterflies hanging above Frida’s night bed, and maybe even this Frida quote, post-amputation, which is featured prominently at the museum, “Who needs feet? I’ve got wings to fly.” I thought this was a pretty cool collab of 2 badass women!

From Casa Azul, I took a short stroll through Coyoacan, met a friend and had lunch in the market. A sit-down ceviche stand for mixed ceviche and a grilled filet – a nice, local, healthy lunch! We topped it off with Paletas (I went with the Guayaba, read:Guava, which tastes very similar to Passion Fruit and is a big deal here) and then it was time for more Diego & Frida.

  

   

Just a a couple miles away in San Angel is the studio that Diego had built for he and Frida. The land has multiple structures on it, a studio for each artist, and a little bedroom for each as well. The red in the foreground was Frida’s, and then separated by cacti and a few steps were Diego’s blue structures, and then his studio which faced hers.

That concluded my Frida & Diego day. There’s a lot more Diego in this city, so more to come soon! The day ended with a coffee at the oasis that is the San Angel Inn, a trip to the gym (impressed?) and then 2 dinners (yeah, I said it), but that will have to be for another time.