Mexican Left: Frida belongs to us

Thu21Jun2007

Mexican Left: Frida belongs to us

11:08 H | Topics: Activism - Arts - Controversia - Mexico - Politics

A one hundred year retrospective of the life and art of Frida Kahlo at Mexico City's Palacio de Bellas Artes was the site of political unrest yesterday, as supporters of leftist ex-candidate for the Mexican presidency, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (referred to by his supporters as the "legitimate President of Mexico) gathered to protest the arrival of President Felipe Calderón and his guests. Calderón and a slew of his cronies, among them some celebrities, were attending a special event in honor of the Kahlo exhibit and were the subject of insults as they entered. Mexico City's La Jornada paints an excellent picture of how things played out:

The biggest examples of aggression happened on the East side of the building, next to the Alameda Central park and at one of the entrances in which the protestors alternated between chants against the President and in favor of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and insults towards those who were going in: "¡lambiscones!" "¡cucarachas!" y "¡lamehuevos del espurio!"

In spite of that, for a few moments more well thought-out shouts and chants were able to be heard: "the culture of the right is represented by Chespirito, Chachita, La Pelangocha; those are their ideologists, not Frida Kahlo, she was a militant leftist. There were also strong reproaches: "Don't prostitute Frida out!"

An older woman sprinkled powder on the ground, as if she were putting out poison for rats and cockroaches, and it fell upon one of the women wearing an elegant black dress, which caused much pushing among the police and some of the organizers and protestors.

Mexican telenovela actress Edith González was one of the celebrity guests targeted by the protestors, who fervently booed her as she passed by.

Via / La Jornada

Image via El Sol de México