Frida Karlo

Frida Kahlo

Frida Karlo's life began and ended in Mexico City, in her home known

as the Blue House. She claimed that her birthdate was July 7,1910, but

her birth certificate shows that it was July 6,1907. This is just one

of the many lies Frida told about her life.

At age 6, Frida was stricken with polio, which caused her right leg to

appear much thinner than the other. It was to remain that way

permanently. When Frida entered high school she was a tomboy full of

mischief who became the ringleader of a rebellious group of mainly

boys that continually caused trouble in the National Preparatory

School. This group pulled many pranks, mainly on professors.

On September 17, 1925, at about age 18, Frida Kahlo was involved in a

serious bus accident, which left her with a broken spinal column, a

broken collarbone, broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and 11 fractures in

her right leg. In addition her right foot was dislocated and crushed,

and her shoulder was dislocated. For a month, Frida was forced to stay

flat on her back, encased in a plaster cast and enclosed in a boxlike

structure. Frida's enormous strength and will to live allowed her to

survive and make a remarkable recovery. She began painting shortly

after the accident because she was bored in bed. This became her

lifelong profession.

Although Frida's recovery was miraculous (she regained her ability to

walk), she did have relapses of tremendous pain and fatigue all

throughout her life, which caused her to be stuck in a hospital bed

for long periods of time, bedridden at times, and also caused her to

undergo numerous operations. She once joked that she held the record

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...urners gathered on July 13, 1954 to watch Frida's cremation. Frida

Kahlo knew how to give her fans one last frightening goodbye. As the

cries of her admirers filled the room, the sudden blast of heat from

the open incinerator doors blew her body bolt upright. Her hair, now

on fire from the flames, blazed around her head like a halo. Frida's

lips appeared to break into a seductive grin just as the doors closed

shut. Her last diary entry read "I hope the leaving is joyful and I

hope never to return". Frida was only 47 on the day she died. Her

amazing, and many times bloody self-portrait paintings will live

forever. Some of her recent fans include Madonna and Robert DeNiro.

By reading about Frida's life you can tell that she went through a lot

of suffering and anguish, this is why her self-portraits are very

dramatic.