In 2013 I went to the Frida and Diego exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario and was blown away by how great it was. I loved it so much that I took my kids out of school for the day so they could see it with me. Unfortunately almost as soon as we got there, Erez, who was around 11 at the time, doubled over with stomach pains. Long story short, they didn’t get to see much of the exhibit but I bought the book in the gift shop and then walked them through the catalog at home.
Recently Aubrey and I watched the 2002 biopic Frida starring Salma Hajek and also revisited that book I bought at the AGO, so I was ready!
Although I would have loved to have seen the gardens during the day, it was magical at night. I took way too many photos…
The museum is called La Casa Azul ( The Blue House) due to its cobalt blue walls. It was originally constructed in 1904. Frida was born in this house in 1907, grew up there with her parents Wilhelm (Guillermo) Kahlo and Native Mexican Mathilde Calderon y Gonzalez and her three siblings. She also lived there for several years with her husband Diego Rivera. It remained her family home until she died in her bedroom in 1954 at the age of 47. Rivera donated the home and its contents to establish a museum to honour Frida’s legacy.
This house was at the centre of intellectual and artistic life in the Colonia del Carmen area of Coyoacan, hosting many famous artists, poets, philosophers and revolutionaries over the years.
Frida spent a lot of time convalescing in this home. She contracted polio when she was six, which caused one of her legs to be shorter than the other. At age 18 she was in a devastating bus accident which left her body badly mangled with many fractures in her spine, pelvis, and other parts of her body. She was confined to her bed for about two years and this is when she began to paint to pass the time. Over her lifetime she had approximately 35 different surgeries. I will not go into her whole life story, but I recommend you look her up, as she lived a fascinating life and was extremely talented in so many ways. Her life was a life of pain and resilience, living life to the fullest she possibly could.
Five fast facts:
- She had a tumultuous marriage to an unfaithful Diego Rivera who was around 20 years older than her. She also had multiple affairs with both men and women, including Leon Trotsky when he and his wife stayed in their home. When Diego slept with Frida’s sister, she divorced him. They did remarry before her death.
- She was the first Mexican artist to have work in The Louvre
- She had three large important exhibitions while she was alive- In New York, Paris and México. Unfortunately, like many artists, her popularity exploded long after her death.
- When she finally had a show in Mexico, her doctor forbade her to leave her bed because she was in such rough shape, so she had them bring her whole bed to the exhibit.
- Although it was a bit of an obscure museum when it first opened, it now has 25,000 visitors a month, and is one of the most popular museums in Mexico City.
The museum was beautiful and absolutely fascinating, containing her artwork, artifacts, photographs and her own personal art collections, including original pieces by prominent artists. There is also an exhibit featuring some of her iconic clothing and jewellery.
Here are some of the hundreds of photos I took:











There are far too many photos to post, but there was one more thing that happened while we were there – one Wednesday a month there is a Danzón class offered and tonight was the night!
Danzón is a graceful Cuban partner dance which influenced later dance styles like salsa, mambo and cha-cha. It is a slow, synchopated dance. We were given fans to use while dancing and I got to dance with the male instructor. It was really cool.

A group of women learning the steps.
It is late now and I still have to do my homework for my last day of class…
This museum was all I could have wished for and more. I am now even more of a fan than ever!
Buenos Noches!










































































































































































































