The postcards came from my college apartment to my house in their cheap Pier 1 Imports frames: a black and white photo of Frida, pretty and feminine, in her bedroom and a reprint of a self-portrait, Frida with shorn hair, headstrong and masculine. Frida was todamujer and still is. Long before she graced every Mexican restaurant wall and was silkscreened onto hipster tees almost as many times as Che, she was one of my heroes, right up there with Wonder Woman, La Virgen, and Rosie the Riveter. When it came time to buy an art piece for my living room, I settled on a Santana album cover because by the late 90s, art by Frida had become ubiquitous. Still, once I knew I was carrying a little Xicana, I knew Frida would make her way into our lives again.
M loves Frida. She loves Frida’s face even if she has yet to truly understand the images and symbols in her work. M likes flowers, bright colors, sacred hearts of Jesus, and being Mexican. She sees herself in Frida. So you can imagine how thrilled she was to be able to become Frida, if only for an evening.
I noticed the Maiz Frida 9.5 event on someone’s Facebook feed earlier this summer and knew we had to attend. My daughter deserves to explore Frida’s legacy in a way that doesn’t deserve a Kermit meme like this recent Vogue article does: http://www.vogue.com/13260863/frida-kahlo-art-summer-style-inspiration/
| Vogue, I do believe that's side-eye. |
Located in the heart of San Jo, or Mexican Town as M dubbed it as we drove to the Mexican Heritage Plaza, the fundraiser raises money for Maiz San Jose’s work to combat domestic violence against Latinas. Two Ni Una Mas scholarships were given out so that Latinas might be able to pay rent, utilities, or use the funds in other ways to extricate themselves from dangerous situations. What better way to honor mujeres than to celebrate a mujer who truly made her mark on the world?
| Altar for Frida |
The evening included music, dance, poetry, and costume contests for children and adults.
For dinner, we enjoyed chicken tacos from a taquiza and some fruta sprinkled with Tajin. Music was provided by DJ Sonido SJ Clash. The silent auction featured various pieces of local art.
I had admired a bracelet on Facebook but ultimately came home with a handmade pillow. We also purchased raffle tickets and we won two tickets for the Children’s Discovery Museum.
We were surrounded by families; no hipsters in sight! We definitely look forward to next year. Gracias Maiz San Jose!
