The presence of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera can be found everywhere in Mexico from tributary murals to bottle cap earrings. With her signature look, which is more than just her very prominent uni-brow, thank you, but also her upswept hair adorned with flowers and a wide-set, piercing gaze, Frieda may be the most popular face of Mexico. I was lucky enough to get a chance to see her live re-incarnation in person in the village of Ocotolan, Oaxaca, which has a traditional market every Friday. There among the vegetables, flowers, animals, and cotton panties, was the kitchen of Frieda, herself, serving Tlayudas (a Oaxaca regional specialty= very large, delicious tortillas) heaped with market fresh ingredients from pollo to beans and quesillo.
In Oaxaca, and all of Mexico, the preparation, flavor, and combination of unique ingredients is an art from in itself. Among the backdrop of fresh produce and smells of a million delicious meals being prepared, served, and consumed in succession, amidst a country where magical realism does not to seem too off-base or far-fetched, I could easily imagine the visual art of Frida, the artist being re-born and continuing in Frida, the chef. Qué chido eh?!
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