Tracing Frida and Diego's Footsteps in the Bay

You don't have to look very long to find tributes to Frida Kahlo in San Francisco. Frida inspired murals cover walls throughout the Mission, street vendors near the Embarcadero sell clothes and earrings with her likeness, and there's a street named after her in the Ingleside neighborhood. This devotion to Frida makes perfect sense because Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived in San Francisco, not once, but twice. During their last stay in TK YEAR, Diego Rivera painted a 74-foot long, 30-ton fresco in front of a live audience at the the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. The mural is rich with details depicting Ancient Mexico, the California Gold Rush, a bustling 1940s San Francisco, and historical figures from Latin America and the United States. You can stare at it for an hour and still miss details. Now this Pan American Unity mural is on display for free at the SFMOMA until the summer of 2023, you can visit it as often as you like to fully take in its message and power. To learn more about the Pan American Unity mural's backstory and the controversy it sparked, we figured it'd be a good time to revisit a story that first ran on KQED's Bay Curious podcast. The episode also dives into Frida's artistic development and how a Santa Rosa horticulturalist influenced her art. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices