ROUTE OF FRIDA KAHLO (Versión en español)

Following the footsteps of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, their favorite spots in Mexico

Day 1:  Arrive Mexico City
Following your arrival at the airport, we will transfer you to the Majestic Hotel in the heart of downtown Mexico City. A welcome cocktail party includes Margaritas and Mexican snacks (quesadillas, chalupitas, tiny tacos and guacamole). The hotel faces the Zócalo, or main plaza, an ideal location for immediate contact with the local culture.

Day 2: Historic Downtown and The Gardens of Xochimilco
Buffet breakfast at the Majestic Hotel's Terrazas Restaurant that features a wonderful view of the plaza.

Our morning tour of the historic downtown area includes the Templo Mayor Aztec ruins; the San Ildefonso Museum, formerly the National Preparatory School where Frida was studying at the time she met Diego; and the Public Education Ministry. Time permitting, we will visit other Rivera murals, which also include  images of Frida and other people who shared Diego's ideology.

We then continue to the Santo Domingo Plaza, where traditional scribes still ply their trade. We then return to the Zócalo where we will visit the Kings' Altar inside the Cathedral as well as the main Rivera mural inside the National Palace which features paintings of Frida and her sister Cristina.

After the downtown tour, we board our tour bus or Van and proceed to Xochimilco, one of Frida and Diego's favorite spots in the southern end of the city. Here we board a traditional water craft called trajinera, complete with flowers, mariachi musicians and a meal of mixiote, quesadillas, guacamole, nopal salad, beer, tequila and handmade tortillas. Before we head home, we will stop off at the late Dolores Olmedo's home which even before her death featured her world-famous collection of Frida and Diego art.

Day 3: Teotihuacan, “the City of the Gods”

Buffet breakfast and departure for Teotihuacan, “the City of the Gods”. On arrival. we will visit an obsidian workshop and we will learn about the maguey (agave) plant. Here we will have a chance to taste pulque and tequila. We will also visit the majestic archeological area with its Citadel and Pyramids of the Son and the Moon. Our lunch will be served at the Restaurante de la Gruta, inside a grotto that Frida and Diego used to visit. Following lunch we will visit the Chapingo Chapel in the Agriculture School where Diego painted one of his major works, “The Rite of the Earth”**. Return to the hotel.

Day 4: Coyoacan and San Angel

Buffet breakfast. Trip to the south of the city along Insurgentes Avenue, the longest avenue in Mexico City. At the Insurgentes Theater, we will visit Diego's mosaic mural, which tells the story of Mexican theater.

Coyoacan, an old colonial town which is now incorporated into Mexico City is where we will visit the famed Blue House which Frida Kahlo's father built and her home for most of her life. Close by is Leon Trotsky's house, now a museum.

We will also visit Anahuacalli, a museum that Diego built for his collection of pre-Hispanic ceramic pieces which Frida strongly supported. The building has an Aztec-inspired design.

Lunch is at the Fonda San Angel, a neighborhood famous for its Saturday crafts market (the Bazar del Sábado) where artists and high quality craftsmen sell their wares. We'll also visit the Frida/Diego studio designed by Juan O´Gorman, also in San Angel before we return to the hotel.

Day 5: Alameda Central and Chapultepec Park

Buffet breakfast. Visit Chapultepec Park, including Diego's Tlaloc Fountain and the Modern Art Museum where among other famous paintings we may find the well-known "Two Fridas", which is usually on exhibit.

We will have a buffet lunch during our tour of the Anthropology Museum and then proceed to the Central Alameda Park where we can view Diego's controversial mural called “Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda”. The National Ballet Folklorico usually offers a magnificent show at the Palace of Fine Arts, which is right next to the Alameda, every Sunday evening at 8:30 p.m.  (Not included, cost is $40 US dollars per person, we can make reservations for you.)

Day 6, Monday: Visit the Lola Olmedo Museum with the fabulous collection of paintings or Culinary holiday treat "Las Fiestas of Fida and Diego"

Buffet Breakfast. OPTIONAL Visit to the San Juan Market to learn about and buy some of the ingredients for the culinary experience in Carmen's house. There our meals will be prepared according to recipes from Frida Kahlo and Lupe Marin. Wine and tequila are included. (Not included, cost is $60 US dollars per person, we can make reservations for you, minimum 10 persons.)

After lunch, we'll head south to the University City and the Olympic Stadium and then on to the Hacienda of San Jose de Vista Hermosa.

Day 7: Taxco and Hacienda Vista Hermosa

American breakfast. Tour to Taxco where Frida and Diego used to take guests for weekend excursions. We'll have lunch in Taxco and spend the night in the Hacienda Vista Hermosa.

Day 8: Cuernavaca and Cholula

American breakfast. Departure for Cuernavaca to visit the Cortes' Palace where we will see Diego murals featuring Mexican Heroes like Zapata and Morelos. We will then visit the Robert Brady Museum, a private home of a wealthy North American featuring one of Frida's self portraits. We will continue on to Tepoztlan, for a brief visit. Following lunch, we will skirt the mountains to Cholula where we will have dinner and spend the night in the Villas Arqueológicas Hotel.

Day 9, Cholula-Oaxaca

American breakfast. Climbing the Cholula pyramid for a breath-taking view of the region. We will see the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios sanctuary, made with stones taken from Quetzalcoatl 's Temple. After our stop in Cholula, we will drive through the mountains, the Sierra Madre del Sur, to Oaxaca. Note the beautiful cacti-dotted landscapes. We will spend the night at Oaxaca's Calesa Real Hotel.

* The city of Oaxaca boasts many wonderful places such as the Regional Museum and the Santo Domingo Church. The entire region was one of the Frida and Diego's favorites and they visited it frequently. It is also where Frida acquired many of her beautiful clothes that camouflaged her terrible body cast.

Day 10: Ocotlan and Oaxaca City

American breakfast. Along with our visit of the Ocotlan market, we will visit the Aguilar Family workshop. These potters create delightful clay figures, including little statues of Frida and Diego. We will also visit the old Santo Domingo Monastery in the town of Ocotlán. It was restored by the famous painter Rodolfo Morales and houses some of his work. Once we return to the city of Oaxaca, we will visit the Botanical Garden located inside the Santo Domingo Monastery. The garden features all the local flora from Oaxaca state. Francisco Toledo, a painter dedicated to defending Oaxaca's cultural heritage, was the moving force behind the creation of this wonderful garden. Dinner at a down town restaurant.

Day 11: Oaxaca, Monte Alban, Mitla and the Tule Tree

American breakfast. Visit Monte Alban, a pivotal archeological site with monumental architecture and wonderful panoramic views. Then we will go to the town of Santa Maria del Tule where we can visit the oldest Ahuehuete tree. It is estimated to be 2,000 years old.

We will continue to Teotitlan del Valle, a town known for wool weavings, and Mitla, an archeological site whose geometrical stone designs have served as the inspiration for many the serape designs sold in Teotitlan. On the way back to Oaxaca, we'll visit a rustic mezcal distillery. We will have dinner in a restaurant with live entertainment (the dances of the Guelaguetza, a celebration that shows the variety of traditional dance in this state). We sleep in Oaxaca.

Day 12: Oaxaca-Puebla-Mexico

American breakfast. Departure for Puebla. We will visit the magnificent colonial city of Puebla with its cathedral, Rosario Chapel and Parian Market. After lunch we depart for Mexico City where we will again stay at the Majestic Hotel.

Day 13: Departure

American breakfast. Transportation to the Mexico City Airport.

Frida, the New Mexican Saint

Frida as a Saint? As a Martyr? This is the result of my thoughts on the worship that started about fifteen years ago following an exhibition of her paintings in Berlin and the publishing of her biography by Hayden Herrera.
Living in Coyoacan, I had the chance to meet Frida Kahlo and and Diego Rivera when I was a child, and a few years ago I decided to design a tour which follows the steps of this controversial couple.
People are now standing in a long queue which goes all around the Casa Azul, gathering like a flock to get into this “mystic and holy” place.
Sisal bags bear Frida's picture embroidered in spangles, and her face is painted on beach pareos - with her dark, thick, bird-like eyebrows flying in the ocean's wind.
Frida, Frida, everywhere… on scarves, ties, mirrors, and clay figures from Oaxaca. Postcards of her with that erotic shade above her lips have now become icons competing with the images of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Writing books about her recipes and essays about her art, publishing facsimile of her diary, has now become a literary phenomenon.
Despite having been criticized by many Mexicans as a very commercial movie, Salma Hayek's Frida succeeded in promoting our country at its best, something the previous film of Paul Leduc with Ofelia Medina (what an excellent work of art!) did not manage to achieve.
The theater performance Cada Quien su Frida (Each one's her own Frida) played by Ofelia Medina takes place in the house of El Indio Fernandez and is produced by his daughter Adela.
A few years ago the colonial village of Coyoacan was just a southern suburb of Mexico City, almost unknown to tourism.
Now it has become a place of pilgrimage, a magnet attracting “curious” visitors.
However, this saint won´t be canonized.