Instructions
Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the text and do the other exercises.
Frida Kahlo
Early life
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist. Her full name was Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón. She was born in Coyoacán, near Mexico City, in 1907. Frida grew up in a bright blue house called La Casa Azul with her parents and sisters. When she was six years old she became ill with polio and her leg was permanently damaged.
Starting to paint
Frida spent a lot of her life in and out of hospitals. She had many health problems and she suffered a lot of pain. When she was eighteen, she was in a bus accident. She broke lots of bones and she spent many months recovering. It was at this time that Frida started to paint. Many of her paintings from this time are self-portraits that show her pain and suffering.
Married life and career
In 1929 Frida married Diego Rivera, a Mexican artist who was famous for painting huge murals on walls. Both artists continued their work and became successful at home and abroad. After they got married, Frida started to wear traditional Mexican clothes and became interested in Mexican folk art. This influenced her paintings, which are very bright and colourful, with an original style that is very personal to Frida. However, they continued to show the pain and sadness which she experienced during her life.
Death and legacy
Frida Kahlo died on 13 July 1954, after suffering more and more health problems. Her husband died three years later. Today Frida and Diego's home, La Casa Azul, is a very popular museum, dedicated to Frida's life and work. It displays paintings by Frida and Diego, as well as many objects from their life, to help tell the story of one of the most important artists in the twentieth century.
Who are your favourite artists? Tell us about them!
My favorite artist
Los Gaiteros de San Jacinto
Once upon a time there was a group of friends who liked to play gaitas and drums. They lived in San Jacinto, a little town on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. Some of them were farmers and one was a mechanic. One day a man called Manuel Zapata Olivella went to San Jacinto looking for a group of gaita music. Manuel invited the group for a tour around Colombia, they said “Yes!”. They went to travel to different cities. It was the year 1964. The musicians were: Toño Fernandez, the brothers Juan and José Lara, Toño Rodríguez and my grandpa Gabriel ‘Cano’ Torregrosa.
The trip was good. They made many concerts, met many new friends, recorded many songs, and became quite famous. After this tour they were invited to a second tour in Europe and Asia, they lived traveling for two years. They became more famous around the world. Then, they came back to San Jacinto and taught their children how to play gaita music, and their sons continue playing until this day.