Mexican artist Frida Kahlo grew up here: The dazzling bright Blue House museum located at the outskirts of Mexico City

MANILA Philippines -- If you had to make a list of some of the most colorful couples in history,  Mexico’s Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo should certainly make the top 10. Their artistic genius, contemptuous relationship,  and unorthodox lifestyle drove the world to seek out as much as they could about them, even long after their deaths. They were like movie stars, whose every move was scrutinized by an adoring public.

In a recent trip to Mexico, we were told the homes of the couple are among the country’s most popular tourist attractions. Certainly, it is difficult to overlook the influence of Diego Rivera, Mexico’s most famous painter. He chose to express his art and politics in large public murals that remain part of one’s daily life today. As for his wife Frida, her persona has been the subject of pity and admiration. She suffered though several health problems and was fodder for gossip for her openly bi-sexual relationships, which were carried on with the knowledge of her husband.

Frida passed away in 1954 but there was a renewed interest in her life when actress Selma Hayek  portrayed her in the movie-bio “Frida.” Released in 2002, the movie grossed US$58 million worldwide. Hayek was later nominated for an Academy award for Best Actress. Predating the movie was the opera “Frida,” composed by Robert Xavier Rodriguez. Also, American jazz flutist-composer James Newton released an album dubbed “Suite for Frida Kahlo.”

Frida was the first Hispanic honored with a US postage stamp. She was also the first 20th century Mexican artist to have an artwork (The Frame) acquired by the Louvre. On the 100th anniversary of her birth, an exhibit of her works broke all attendance records at the Palacio de las Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

In his autobiography, Diego wrote that the day Frida Kahlo died was the most tragic day of his life. He had realized too late that the most wonderful part of his life had been his love for her.

We journeyed to Diego’s birthplace in Guanajuato, six hours from Mexico City and found a simple unobtrusive dwelling in a narrow street where Diego was born (in 1886) and raised until he was six. The original furniture and portraits on the first floor are intact. Hanging on the walls are his portraits of indigenous people, sketches for some of his murals, a nude of Frida, and other smaller pieces.

The collection in the house is very important as it offers a microcosm of his styles. Represented in the collection are his  works during his early years as an artist;  and the cubist period when he moved to Paris where he befriended Gauguin, Seurat, Matisse, and Modigliani, who even made a portrait of him. Also represented in the collection is his rediscovery of Mexican indigenous art rendered in bold Aztec colors and his political phase when a commissioned mural for the Rockefeller Center was stopped for his having included a picture of Lenin.

In 1971, his daughter Guadalupe Rivera Marin worked to convert the house into a museum. Two years later, the task was completed with the cooperation of the government, the National Institute of Fine Arts, and the University of Guanajuato. Finally, the artist who in small conservative Guanajuato was persona non grata for years, was now welcomed back with a homage to his works.

Frida,  who was 20 years his junior, married Diego twice. Their  stormy relationship did survive the infidelities from both sides, the pressures of Diego’s career,  and the health crisis of Frida. Whatever people may say about them, they did love each other with a passion carried unto the death.

Casa Azul or the Blue House in Coyoacan, at the outskirts of Mexico City is the family home built by Frida’s father Guillermo in 1907, and where Frida grew up. Frida’s father was Hungarian-Jewish. Her mother was of Spanish-Mexican Indian descent. From afar, the place immediately catches the attention of passersby with its striking royal blue façade, which is repeated inside to a certain extent. We walked along the garden and paused to look at the Mexican pyramid, the fountain, and the pre-Columbian idols and stone figures, before entering the house.

A viewing room showed a short film on Frida’s life and works. A separate building contained her works.  We are told that the house is often visited by people possessed by what is called “Fridamania.”  They stay in the place hours on end, dissecting her self-portraits, particularly the expression beneath her bushy eyebrows. They read through her diary, and look at her clothes to try to understand the life of their idol.  In a way, in acclaiming these artists’ works in the houses they grew up in, we also felt like voyeurs catching glimpses of the unorthodox lives they led. We are not certain that this is entirely fair to the dead whom we were honoring.

Email the author at bibsycarballo@yahoo.com