La Casa Azul
La Casa Azul, or the Blue House, is where the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was born and died. Frida’s father built the house three years before she was born on July 6, 1907. Located on the corner of Londres and Allende streets in the suburban area of Coyoacan outside of Mexico City, it is very distinct with it blue walls and green shutters. The unusual house appears virtually identical to what it looked like at Frida’s death and it contains her extensive folk art and Pre-Colombian artifact collection.
Frida Kahlo lived a very tumultuous life in her Blue House. She suffered from polio as a child, which disfigured her legs, and when she was eighteen, a bus she was riding collided with a streetcar. Her spine was fractured, pelvis crushed, and a bar impaled her in the accident, leaving her with a painful and lengthy recovery. While she was bedridden, she taught herself to paint and realized she had great talent. Much of her artwork portrays her pain and emotions in her own life experiences. She married the famous Mexican mural painter Diego Rivera in 1929 and they became national celebrities; their 25 year marriage was very strained and filled with infidelity. For a short time, Leon Trotsky resided in the house of the communist Riveras during his exile, and had an affair with Frida.
The Blue House is colonial style with high walls in a U-shape surrounding a lush courtyard where an interesting Mesoamerican style pyramid displays the Rivera’s unusual artifact collection. The Blue House was made into a museum in 1958, four years after Frida’s death and remains one of Mexico’s most visited museums today. It is open to the public and provides guided tours, visitors can learn more at http://www.museofridakahlo.org.mx
Researched and written by Krystal Johnson, Undergraduate Student in History, University of West Florida, LAH 3200 Spring 2012.
