Gratitude

“Frida has always been a "guide" of sorts to me. My mother is of German, English, Scottish descent, and my father is from Mexico. So then, like Frida, I am of mixed Mexican and European heritage. This of course affected the way I was perceived as a child and throughout my life, which has in turn, shaped my own self-awareness. My father raised me to be proud of our Mexican heritage and from a young age ensured that I knew we have Indigenous ancestors, something that I have been drawn to reconnecting with. I know that connecting with this part of her heritage was important to Frida, which is apparent in her dress, her artwork, her jewelry, and her ways of viewing, knowing, and walking through the world (which we can "peek" into through her words and art). I continue this journey of reconnection, developing my relationship with my animalitos as Frida did (we have dogs, cats, fish, snakes, a lizard, and up until recently had a tarantula. I feel most comfortable at home when surrounded by animals and plants!) While it may not be the focus of some people's viewing or understanding of Frida, for me the connection to and respect for animals is a manner of healing the very colonial conceptualization of humans as "superior" to and removed from nature and other beings.

I am also committed to learning and honoring the ancestral ways through community practice. I am part of a local kalpulli- guided and led by abuela Tupina. This has been an integral part of my healing and internal decolonizing process, and the beauty is that it has been done in community- just as it was for our ancestors. As a queer Xicana, Frida has also been a sustaining presence in my life, helping me to feel comfortable in my expression of gender and sexuality. Knowing that as a queer Mexican/Xicanx community we have an ancestor like her is sustaining, and reminds me/us that sexuality and gender have always been more complex than a binary. To me, Frida is a symbol- perhaps most of all- of resistance against those things and people who would rather people like us not exist. A celebratory, unapologetic resistance that is deeply rooted in these lands we call home and the ancestors who did, too.” 

-Sierra Romero

“I am the daughter of an immigrant, witnessed and experienced the struggles that entails. I grew up in south Texas only 20 minutes away from the border and frequently spent my summers in Mexico to be with loved ones. I had a very traditional upbringing, riddled with machismo and a lack of femininity. Growing up, I held a deep admiration for Frida Kahlo because she is a strong feminine role model and inspired me to make art of my own— whether it be poetry or painting. Her vulnerability she shared through her art still inspires me today. Today, I honor my native Mexican roots through danza, prayer, food, plant medicine and art. I work to incorporate these traditional aspects into my daily life and keep my ancestors in mind.”

-Leighla Molina