TIJUANA.- The exhibit titled 'Frida Kahlo: Sus Fotos' will take place on Friday, June 12th at El Cubo museum, inside CECUT in order to present the life journey of the painter who became an icon of Mexican art throughout the world.

Hidden for over 50 years inside Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera's bathroom, after the death of Dolores Olmedo, former Director of La Casa Azul and the Anahuacalli museums in Mexico City, over 22,000 documents, 6,500 photographs and nearly 300 items of Frida's clothing were recovered.

This material was concealed by request of muralist Diego Rivera, when he asked that the bathroom remain closed for 15 years, a plead 'muse' Lola Olmedo agreed to, promising him that it will not be open for as long as she lived, and that it wasn't 15 years but decades later when this archive was revealed, a curator was called in to make sure that the state of the photographs was proper before being exhibited in a museum.

In 2005, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio took on the task of restoring the images, creating a book with a little over 400 photographs which carries the same tittle of the exhibit. However, the most recent presentation of the images will only contain half of the work.

The exhibit 'Frida Kahlo: Sus Fotos' was first presented at La Casa Azul, afterwards it was shown around different countries of the globe such as Germany, Brazil and the United States, according to the museum's current director, Hilda Trujillo, one of the people who fought to bring the exhibit to Tijuana, given that it wasn't showed on any other city of the Mexican country.

In spite of living in Distrito Federal, Hilda grew up in Tijuana and has worked with CECUT.

"I lived here. I love Tijuana so much, I studied in San Diego and worked at CECUT. I'm so glad this is the first city the exhibit is being showed at after La Casa Azul. This a great achievement," she pointed out.

"I want to acknowledge the efforts of CECUT's Director, Pedro Ochoa made in order to bring the exhibit to the city, given that another city had already requested it, but due to a sudden delay he was able to pull through."

Hilda Trujillo also talked about what viewers can expect next Friday, assuring that this is a collection that will bring us closer to Frida, as well as to the time era she lived in and the artist she came to know. Painters and photographers from all around the world who were enthused by the movement that was taking place in Mexico, Muralism, are also featured in this series.

Although Frida wasn't a muralist, he husband, Diego Rivera was, thanks to him and other friendships she made along the way, she was able to encounter photographers such as Tina Modotti, Brassaï, Man Ray, Edward Weston, Martin Munkácsi, Fritz Henle and Pierre Verger to name a few. These artist and many other are some of the authors we will be able to see at the exhibit having Frida as their main character.

Unfortunately, the images from 'Frida Kahlo: Sus Fotos' aren't original pieces, given that Diego Rivera said that no original artwork must ever leave its original museums. Nonetheless, we will be able to see the reprinting of the original work where the same story is narrated.

Other Exhibits From La Casa Azul

Given that while he lived, Diego Rivera didn't' give authorization for any original artwork to leave the museum, Hilda Trujillo mentioned that they are still working on some legal matters in order to move some items from La Casa Azul, which is why she doesn't dismay the idea of one day Frida's clothing arriving in Tijuana from Coyoacan, place that once she called home.

"In the future, we would like to have some permit that allows to bring Frida's clothes. Over 20 countries have requested it, among them we have England, one of our sponsors, so were looking into how we can share them, and although there are many thing we can't take out, there are some we can," Trujillo mentioned doubtfully but optimistic. "We have such important collections we are sure we will make this possible."

As a reminder to our readers, Frida Kahlo's exposition which pictures she took herself or modified, will be available at El Cubo museum at CECUT, starting from Friday, June 12that 7:00p.m. Admission is free.

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elizabeth.rosales@sandiegored.com