64 years after her death, Frida Kahlo, the mythical Mexican artist, returns to captivate the public. The Spanish dance theatre company, directed by Alberto García, and the Mexico based, Costa Rican choreographer, Marcela Aguilar, bring “ Pies para qué los quiero, si tengo alas pa volar”, to Nave 73 in Madrid as a tribute to Frida Kahlo, one of the greatest icons of Mexican culture.
The original piece was created by Marcela Aguilar back in 1985 at the request of the nurse who was with Frida on her deathbed. Aguilar visited the “Casa Azul” in Coyoacan to start with the artistic creation and investigate more about Frida’s life, and examined personal objects like her famous handwritten letters. She immersed herself in the place Frida called home, and where her particular life was filled with misfortunes, triumphs, and small joys would go on to rob her of her life. The result of Aguilar’s work was a 17 minute show that opened for the first time in Mexico and has now been made into a 60 minute performance for Kahlo fans to enjoy every Thursday in January and February in Madrid.
A cast of dancers, men, women and even a young girl recreate the emblematic Frida, shaping a multilayered image of the enigmatic and mysterious artist.
Divided into three parts, it shows aspects of the artist’s life, without any chronological order, covering her childhood, her time in hospital, her turbulent marriage to the muralist Diego Rivera, and her revolutionary aspirations, which all make the audience part of her vitality and also the tremendous suffering she experienced throughout her life.
Decades later, Frida is still as controversial as she is famous. She remains a feminism legend and a milestone in the history of art. The show invites the audience to think about our unlimited capabilities, despite having a painfully disabling illness like that suffered by Frida Kahlo. According to Alberto García explanation, the choral part added to the show “relates to Frida’s imagination, which is unfolded in multiple personalities and represent the women of the 20th century who fought for gender equality.”
After the last show in Madrid, it hits the road to visit several cities around Spain and possibly also to Mexico.
