Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was born July 6, 1907 in the city of Coyoacan, a town about an hour’s drive from Mexico City. Christened Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon, she was commonly known as Frida. Even though she was of Hispanic descent her name actually derives from the German word, frida, which means “peace”. This was her father‘s native language. Born the third child of four, Frida was her father’s favorite. “Frida’s the most like me,” he was known to proclaim once. (Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera 16) This may be because she was a very free-spirited little girl. She was born into an artistic family. Her grandfather and father were professional photographers. Her father was commissioned by the government to photograph Mexico’s buildings and monuments. He would often take his daughter along on assignments and on Sundays when he would work on his watercolors. When she was not with her father, Frida was being taught by her mother the skills all young girls in Mexico needed to know, such as cooking and sewing. Frida, along with her sisters learned these skills before they even entered kindergarten. Everyday the family would head to the nearby church. When they walked in Frida would take notice of the Milagros, or tiny charms that hung near statues of saints. These were hung when someone needed a miraculous cure. She also took notice of the retablos, which were paintings churchgoers placed in the church to give thanks for a miracle. Frida admired these and would later be an influence in her art.
      Frida lived through a very painful and sad childhood. At the age of six years old, she was diagnosed with polio in her right leg. This forced the poor young girl to stay at home for nine months because of the precaution of not infecting others. The isolation was so intense for the little girl that she had to think of ways to keep herself entertained and dwelled on her imagination. In one instance she invented an imaginary friend. The way that the young Frida would meet her...