Do you know Frida Kahlo? I don’t mean personally, of course, unless you have occult powers. But you’ve probably heard of her and her oeuvre of 143 paintings that have received worldwide recognition. Not to mention the piquancy of her stormy marriage to Diego Rivera and the many loves with representatives of both sexes from the time when they were still two. Nor the long painful periods of her life, the result of illnesses and a serious accident. In short, now we have to decide with you whether poor Frida deserves what happened to her in a random place far from home.
The place is the so-called Museum of Mexican Folk Art in the city of Valladolid, on the Yucatan Peninsula. And although it is in the same country, it is not very close to her native Mexico City. The Museum itself is actually a private residence, although it accepts visitors, sells tickets and has provided charmingly chatty guides. Frida Kahlo awaits the visitors in question in the lobby, perched on a bench next to her beloved Rivera, where anyone can literally sit on her lap (see the photo above).
It turns out, as you can see, that this is not the only opportunity to sit with the famous artist. Our guide Sergio tells us that the house is owned by an American couple who, years ago, fell in love with Valladolid and carelessly bought several plots of land in its very center. It probably helped that, at the time, the plots were neglected and the house was a ruin, although in my opinion it helped more that the owner had a “computer services company” and could clearly afford it. To the point of turning one of the plots into a private swimming pool.
But let’s not digress, our story is about Frida Kahlo. The woman is apparently held in high regard throughout Mexico, even in places where she never lived, like Valladolid for example. One of the four guest suites at the Museum of Folk Art is named after her. By “guest suites,” I mean the owners’ personal guests; plebeians like us don’t get a chance to stay here. The interior of the suite is strictly themed, which means that folk art has run rampant on poor Frida’s back.
I also have to mention the well-known Mexican piñata. It is made for various holidays, from paper or clay, and is filled with sweet treats. It is hung from the ceiling and guests hit it with sticks until they convince it to “drop” the sweets. The shape can be very different, but it is often a fantastical depiction of non-existent animals or evil spirits, who are in the meantime punished by being flogged with the sticks. So why would anyone want to make a piñata in the shape of Frida Kahlo, remains a mystery to me.
The encounters with various ‘incarnations’ of Frida surprisingly continue in other places around the house. Panels, sculptures, candlesticks, pillows. One of the most unusual items is in the dining room, the clutter of which can give you a headache; I won’t even comment on how it would probably affect your digestion. For some reason, Mexican folk art is very fond of deer, so perhaps the combination of a beloved deer with the beloved Frida Kahlo shouldn’t surprise me, but there it is, in the lower left corner.
I wouldn’t like to leave you under the impression that I didn’t like this unusual museum in Valladolid. On the contrary, it was an instructive and enriching experience. Who are we to approve or disapprove of other people’s folklore? Especially when it brings us so much information about the spiritual life and culture of distant (and not so distant) peoples. Mexico is an amazing mix of the old Mayan culture and imported Spanish traditions. Would Frida Kahlo have liked it? We might be surprised.
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