You can view my latest video of art and architecture in Mexico City at: http://youtu.be/grAY6YWWVYI

The Palacio des Belles Artes renewed my inspiration for Architecture. Seeing the original drawings in large-scale formats at the top of the building, “in situ” with the surroundings for which it was designed, led me to believe that every building should have a place to show its design! While not necessarily practical for all, the value and purpose of doing so for this building were certainly evident.

The exterior perspective, model, and elevations are transferred to full scale grandeur, as are the interior atrium and domed area of the museum and the main auditorium. As mentioned previously, I saw an excellent production of Rigoletto one night and sat in the prime orchestra seats for only $60 US! I’m going back!

Frida Kahlo’s life history was tragic and fascinating. She was born to a German-Hungarian father, who was a photographer. Her mother was Mexican-Spanish. Her work and attire always reflected her alignment to Mexican culture and is regarded as Mexico’s most famous woman artist.

She had polio at the age of 6 and a serious accident at 18, when the bus she was riding was hit by a streetcar. She required over 20 surgeries in her lifetime that resulted in her use of numerous prosthetic devices. She was in constant pain but managed to produce incredible works of art. Her focus on headgear was an attempt to divert attention from her body. One foot was shorter than another, so her shoes were modified to fit each foot, and she wore corsets and long dresses to obscure her distortions. The clothing in the exhibition were only recently discovered in a storage room of the house 50 years after her death.

She was born in 1907 and died in 1954. Despite this short life span, she was married to Diego Rivera twice. After being separated for a short period the first time, they remarried. They traveled outside Mexico to San Francisco, New York and Europe. Many of their works are inspired from these travels.

I hope you will enjoy the delicate sensitivity from this talented artist’s work, and appreciate the strong influence of Diego Rivera on her life. Her mantra was “Viva la Vida!”

Here’s hoping you all were able to “Viva la Vida” in 2014 and will do more of the same in 2015!!