"I hope the exit is joyful, and that I never return..." ♥️🫀💙
our Mexico City adventure, what I'm reading, a tale of two Pad Thais
hey-ho!
If you’ve seen the movie, FRIDA, you probably remember the scene in which Frida, bedridden and deeply suffering with emotional and physical pain, is loaded onto a flatbed truck. It is the night of the opening of her solo show in Mexico City and her doctor has forbidden her from getting out of bed. So, indomitable Frida has herself delivered to the galleries, bed and all, refusing to miss out on her lifelong dream. As she is carried in, we hear Diego Rivera speaking to the assembled crowd about her work, he says something like, “Frida’s paintings express that we are all alone and in pain. That is why they speak to so many of us.”
Yes-and, in the moment Frida rejects the statement. She refuses to be alone. It is a gorgeous and defiant scene. She claims her desire, despite her failing body, and shows up! If you haven’t seen the film, please do find it and enjoy.
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Visiting Casa Azul, Frida’s home for much of her life, taking in the colors, the gardens, the art and artifacts with which she surrounded herself, I was deeply moved. The house, full of her vulnerability and her strength, feels so alive. Start with the blue! It’s confident and consuming, nearly magnetic, a beautiful plunge. I know… I sound so pathetic in my attempts to describe. Wandering through her space you grasp that she was an incredibly free, honest, and curious person.
I thought a lot about her accident, polio, the miscarriages, her husband’s womanizing, the betrayal by her sister, the difficulties she had gaining respect in the art world, the fearlessness she brought to her work, the freedom she allowed her wide ranging desires, and the generosity she exhibited toward other artists.
Frida, who died at 47, crammed so much into her life. She wrote in her diary, "I hope the exit is joyful, and that I never return."
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Mexico City was bursting with rich and bright moments. I highly encourage you to visit. More of our experiences here, and if you’d like our recommendations from food to neighborhoods, hot air balloons to bookstores, museums to mezcal, become a paid subscriber and I’ll happily send you all the goods!
Below the paywall I’ve got a double take on Pad Thai, one far more successful than the other, all due to my secret ingredient! Some books that are seeing me through a tough time, and a writing prompt.
Thank you paid subscribers!