The Blue House: Frida Kahlo

In Mexico City lay a bright blue house that physically displays the colorful life Frida Kahlo left behind. The blue color of the house was later known to represent her admiration for the indigenous people of Mexico. It had a surface area of 800 square meters and sits on a 1,200 square meter lot. Frida Kahlo is one of the most famous painters representing the Latin American culture, and her memory forever lies within the neighborhood of Coyoacan. Coyoacan, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Mexico City, memorialized Frida’s house into a Musuem in 1958, just four years after the famous painter passed. She was married to Diego Rivera, famously known for his mural works. Their house together contains some of her most famous works including Viva la Vida (1954), and Portrait of My Father Wilhelm Kahlo (1951).

When you first step foot in the house the room with a mirror on the ceiling captures your immediate attention. There are portraits at the foot of her bed that she drew while on bed rest for nine months after a terrible bus accident. This horrific accident in her life is what started Frida’s creative artistic passion. Despite her downfall, she made something beautiful out of her physical despair. Diego was aware of the high medical bills placed on their family after the accident. Therefore, he bought the property and paid off the debt of the house. The house was now the couple’s own. Everywhere you turn in the house reveals a piece of Frida’s everyday life. Things like crutches and medicine display her many years of suffering from the accident, as well as toys, jewelry and clothing she collected, which contributed to her reputation as a hoarder.

Her Mexican culture is really displayed in the kitchen, which many cultures find to be the heart of the house. There are traditionally decorated clay pots and a variety of pieces. But Frida and Diego’s love for their culture didn’t just lie within the home, though this is the last remnant of the couple. Frida’s desire for the Mexican people went beyond just their house. Frida and Diego both dedicated their works and left them sealed up in their rooms for fifteen years after their death. After the fifteen years passed, it took an extra three years, with the help of the organization Apoyo al Desarrollo de Archivos y Bibliotecas de Mexico (ADABI) to discover that about 22,000 documents and 6,500 photographs were left in the Blue house, along with many magazines, books, paintings, drawings, ect. Some of these documents revealed the meanings and hidden clues of some of Frida’s works. The Blue House Museum is nothing short of a testament of a women and a man who had passion for their culture, country, neighborhood and art.

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