Mexican painter Frida Kahlo survived polio, a car accident, chronic pain and early 20th-century expectations to become a famous artist and cultural icon. Kahlo’s works did not become famous until about four decades after her death when she became a pillar of the feminist movement, as well as the eventual inspiration for Bless Your Bones Boutique founder and Lewisville resident Kimberly Perez.

“I started [Frida Fest] just for North Texas, and we have such an artist community that I felt it was necessary because there was absolutely nothing for Frida,” Perez said. “There’s Day of the Dead, but nothing to celebrate the art of [the culture], and I felt she deserved her own day.” 

The second annual Frida Fest was held last Saturday at Harvest House. The celebration hosted local vendors chosen to market their wares and celebrate Frida Kahlo from 3 to 8 p.m. The event date, July 8, is significant, as Frida Fest is meant to celebrate Kahlo’s birthday, July 6. 

“I think people either know a lot about Frida, or they don’t know that much,” Perez said. “She’s been such a powerhouse inspiration-wise — she created an empire on her own, and she went through hell.”

Like Kahlo, Perez’s artistic nature started in her younger years when Perez’s mother was a commercial artist who encouraged her to paint as a child. 

“Every piece of my artwork, if it’s jewelry that I make or a painting, it all comes from [Kahlo],” Perez said. “Pretty much one of the most inspirational artists that I look up to is Frida.”

Kahlo’s art, while primarily focused on self-portraits, nature and artifacts of Mexico, was influenced most strongly by the native art and Mexican folk culture surrounding her. One of her paintings, known as “The Frame,” was purchased by the Louvre, cementing her place as the first Mexican artist in their collection. The picture is a self-portrait of Kahlo, made of various mediums, including an aluminum sheet, glass and paint.

“I think it’s important to celebrate her through food, culture, music [and] art, she had so many layers to her.” Perez said. “And it all came out in her art.”

Prevalent through all of her pieces was the influence of the Zapotec tribe, the native peoples of the southern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula in modern-day southeast Mexico. Kahlo was inspired by the Zapotecs and Aztec people, with a particular draw to the matriarchal structure and female empowerment woven through Zapotec history. 

“Nizhoni in Navajo means beautiful, so beautiful beadwork, beautiful dreamcatchers,” said James Adakai, Nizhoni Beadwork and Dreamcatchers co-founder and Navajo Apache tribe member. “For myself, dreamcatchers, it goes back to when I was 9 years old, and the story [comes from] my adoptive grandma [whom] was Chippewa, Ojibwe, and that’s where the dreamcatchers actually came from.”

The Ojibwe, a Native tribe also called the Chippewa, hailed from areas of modern-day Canada, Minnesota and North Dakota. While dreamcatchers became more widespread amongst Native communities in the ’60s and ’70s, their origin intertwined with the Ojibwe belief of dreams being a connection to the spirit world.

“We just put two and two together and started our own business,” said Rosa Adakai, Nizhoni Beadwork and Dreamcatchers co-founder and Aztec dancer. “So we just kind of tied [our cultures] together that way. We are on our second year and we have a mixture of Mexican arts and crafts and Northern Native American arts and crafts.”

After two years at Harvest House, Perez seeks a new venue to stretch Frida Fest’s legs to host more vendors and attendees. Frida Fest will be hosted around the same time next July to continue celebrating Kahlo’s birthday, life and art. 

“I think that she had such a big influence on Latina culture, on North America and around the world,” Maria Aguilar, University of Texas at San Antonio graduate and nonprofit JOLT regional organizer. “I lived in Spain for a little bit, and at their museum, they had one of her pieces in the exhibit, and seeing that in a space, seeing her break through the barriers, that is definitely influential.” 

Aguilar also notes that a lot of Kahlo’s influence and public image stemmed from the Black and brown culture that Kahlo grew up around, which they believe is often overlooked when telling Kahlo’s story. 

“She’s more than just really cool paintings and a fashion icon she went through war to be who she was, and I think that’s important for everybody to see because [being] small business owners, artists, like myself, it’s hard,” Perez said. “Some of us don’t see recognition until after we’re dead and gone. And I feel it’s really important to keep all aspects of her in the eyes of the community.”

Featured Image: A Frida Fest vendor’s booth features a graphic T-shirt of Frida Kahlo at Harvest House on July 8, 2023. Makayla Brown