EDINBURG — Frida Kahlo was everywhere the eyes could see here at the city hall courtyard over the weekend. Her likeness was on canvas, her spirit was in the air, her legacy was painted on the faces of attendees at the city’s festival dedicated in her name, and thanks to Houston artist Anat Ronen, she was also on the very ground you walked on.
Paying tribute to the legendary Mexican artist, Ronen, 51, set out on a painstaking but rewarding process this week to paint a mural of Frida on the brick grounds of the Edinburg City Hall Courtyard. It created a stopping point for attendees of this year’s FridaFest celebration, a two-day event that kicked off Friday and continued Saturday, as many posed for photos and admired Ronen’s tribute to Frida.
“Looking at her and learning from her and taking her strength to be just who she was without faking it is a huge inspiration,” Ronen said Saturday.
Shades of beige, pink, yellow, red and black united to form the famous likeness as it stretched across the brick pavement, where the muralist from Houston brought Frida to life. With each new detail added, it was as though Frida herself was extending a hand to each guest.
According to Ronen, the 30-feet-by-12-feet painting is an anamorphic image, a style of painting in which the image is distorted until seen from a particular vantage point, which created a unique set of challenges.
Due to the demanding task of stretching out each detail in a detail-rich mural, it made it difficult for her to determine whether the image was shaping up the way she wanted, to look as realistic as possible.
“Once I decide that I’m happy with the design I need to figure out the distortion … the bigger the piece is the more distorted it is,” Ronen said, adding that the portrait of Frida was especially challenging because many of the details had to be elongated.
“Her bow above her head is basically the length of her entire portrait,” Ronen explained.
These events bring a new sense of appreciation for artists and their art, she further noted. Putting the pieces together in the public eye allows attendees to learn how artists take an idea and represent it through color and a canvas, or wherever.
“It is a great way to connect between people and specifically between artists,” she said.
Artists such as Amanda Salinas, a resident of Harlingen, was one of the many who appreciated Ronen’s portrait, and found the work to be one of the event’s more interesting attractions.
“I just love everything about her (Frida). Her style — it wasn’t like flowers or what you would think is feminine,” Salinas said. “She did what she thought her life was about, the nitty gritty of it.”
Frida also saw the beauty in imperfections, according to Salinas, who added, “She didn’t hide the ugliness of stuff … she had a different form of beauty.”
The city of Edinburg also had live performances on two main stages for this year’s event, as well as other amenities for children, not to mention the art exhibited at the courtyard — art inspired by and honoring Frida.
Ruth Naomi, 41, of Pharr performed at Saturday’s event as a singer and owner of Maravilla Productions and Entertainment.
“The most important Frida life lesson I hold dear and near to my heart is that of resilience,” Naomi said. “As an artist I reflect on the short life lived by such an icon. Her life wasn’t easy.”
Naomi was referring to the tragedies Frida endured, and looked up to her as a fiercely independent woman and artist who transcended pain to beauty.
“The canvas, much like our songs and performances, are the catharsis for the emotional parts of life,” she said. “Her paintings were a personal reflection of her life. As a music artist, you connect with listeners through the same exposure and vulnerability.”
Elvia Vargas, a native of McAllen, appreciated the event’s vibe of passion and art, but also worked as a vendor, selling various products such as handcrafted Frida headbands.
Vargas, 64, admitted it’s been rough recently due to rising costs brought on by inflation, so Saturday’s event provided an opportunity to possibly meet new customers.
“I am at that point where I am on a budget but with the high cost of gas and everything, and me not qualifying for anything … I just thank God that I have my health to go out and work,” Vargas said, adding that she is grateful to the city for providing vendors the opportunity to sell their products.
For Vargas, Frida represented the beauty of Mexican culture and was glad she could share a piece of that beauty in her products.
Recalling Frida’s impact on art, Naomi said the effect she had on people who not only admired her work but her way of life remains a lasting legacy.
“She broke many barriers,” Naomi said. “She taught us to be true to ourselves.”
