Remember Frida Kahlo, Icon of Mexico, Women, Indigenous Peoples and LGBTQ+ Communities

In her day, Mexican painter Frida Kahlo was best known as the wife and muse of the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. Today, she is probably more famous than him. Through her creativity, character and strength of will, Kahlo has become a global icon of Mexican pop culture, women, indigenous peoples and LGBTQ+ communities.

Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón was born in Coyoacán, Mexico, on July 6, 1907. Poliomyelitis and then a terrible bus accident when she was eighteen made her journeys difficult, but nothing stopped her Frida. If she couldn't get out of bed, she painted from the bed. She could even have her bed carried with her in it. This is one of the characteristics of great artists. Nothing stops them.

Frida's art was not truly discovered until the late 1970s. Her paintings show an unusual level of introspection. It's as if she had one foot in this world and one foot in the other. And today, even though she crossed over, it's almost as if she's still here with us. From a European point of view, this is absurd, but from an Aboriginal point of view, it makes perfect sense.

In another hallmark of greatness, Kahlo followed her own muse. Her unibrow and slight mustache went against female beauty standards, but she wore them proudly. She wore traditional Mexican clothes because she wanted to.

Rivera was a famous womanizer. Frida also slept with whomever she wanted. At that time, it was very frowned upon, but again, Kahlo did what she wanted. This makes her an LGBTQ+ icon today.

Injuries aside, Frida led an enchanted life, but she always cared about her people. This is something we see in many Latin American artists, especially women.

MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art usually exhibits works by Frida Kahlo. Throckmorton Fine Art has vintage photographs of her by leading photographers of the day in Mexico and New York.

Mexican New York