In The Community
In the art world, discussions about the best painters to come out of Latin America or be of Latin American descent usually revolve around men. While male artists have made tremendous contributions, so have female artists, and they deserve as much of the spotlight as men. Today, we honor the remarkable Latina painters whose invaluable contributions have made art richer. With their enduring works full of cultural heritage, vulnerability, and unique perspective, these women have not only carved their names in art history but also revolutionized how we perceive art:
Frida Kahlo
Photo by Guillermo Kahlo - Sotheby's on Wikimedia Commons
It’s impossible to discuss Latina artists and not start with Frida Kahlo. This Mexican painter has been recognized all over the world for her surreal and symbolic paintings. Rooted in her own life and complex inner world, Frida’s art tackles important themes like race, identity, gender, and postcolonialism. Latinos and people from all over the world, especially women, can find something to relate to within Frida’s paintings because they’re vulnerable, honest, and raw. “The Two Fridas” is only one example of that, and it resonates with Latinos living in the United States who experience duality in their identity.
Amelia Peláez
Courtesy of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Cuba
Amelia Peláez was born in Cuba, where she graduated from the “Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes de San Alejandro” in 1924. She went on to study art in New York and Paris as well, and she’s known as one of the most outstanding painters to come out of Cuba. Her tropical and colonial aesthetics stand out in her work, and she had a wonderful way of working with geometric shapes. Her paintings are defined by bold outlines and stained-glass aesthetics. “Fishes” is one of the best examples of that and the bright colors really jump out of the frame.
Carmen Herrera
Photo by Victor Laredo on WikiArt
Here we have another amazing Cuban painter born in Havana! Carmen Herrera is a minimalist artist who's been painting for over seven decades, but she only gained significant recognition when she was in her 90s. With her striking geometric paintings, she proved that simplicity can carry profound meanings. Her work, like the celebrated "Blanco y Verde" series, beautifully mirrors the balanced integration of her Cuban roots with her life in New York.
Beatriz González
Photo by Galeria Nouvelle on Wikimedia Commons
Beatriz González is a versatile artist from Colombia and she’s very well-known for her pop art style. She’s a painter, sculptor, illustrator, curator, historian, and art critic, and her work is exhibited in museums around the world, including Mexico, New York, Houston, and more. Her art is known for its bright colors, roughness, and awkward forms, and for exploring middle-class notions of ethnicity, gender, class, and taste. One of her most well-known pieces is “The Sisga Suicides” I, II, and III, inspired by a heartbreaking story the artist read about in the press.
Clara Ledesma
Courtesy of www.claraledesma.net
Clara Ledesma became a part of history as one of the first women to attend the National School of Fine Arts in Santo Domingo. She went on to become one of the most well-known Dominican painters and throughout her career, she played with a variety of styles. Including surrealism, abstraction, and expressionism. One thing about her paintings is that they’re brightly colored and fantastical, bursting with mysticism and magic. That’s why they can transport people into other realms. A great example of that is her popular painting, “Modernist figures with a peacock and other birds.”
Ana Mendieta
Photo by Ana Mendieta
Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-American performance artist, sculptor, and painter, used her body as a canvas to express themes of feminism, life, death, and spiritualism. Her "Silueta Series," where she molded her silhouette into outdoor landscapes, created a deeply visceral and moving connection between the body and the earth. This groundbreaking approach to art has left an indelible mark on the art world.
Leonora Carrington
Photo by © Lee Miller Archives
Photo by © Lee Miller Archives
Leonora Carrington was born in the United Kingdom, but she’s of Mexican descent and spent most of her adult years in Mexico City. She was a painter and novelist, known for her surrealist style. Her work is featured in museums all over the world and it stands out due to her grotesque imagery and dark humor. She’s also known for challenging repression within the surrealist movement and embracing nonhuman elements to blur the lines between human, animal, and machine in her paintings. One of her many well-known works is “The Giantess (The Guardian of the Egg),” which perfectly represents her style.
Doris Salcedo
Photo by David Heald - Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation on Wikimedia Commons
Born and raised in Colombia, Doris Salcedo is known for her large-scale installations and sculptures that communicate powerful messages about the socio-political landscape. Salcedo’s work, such as her installation "Shibboleth," a large crack in the floor of the Tate Modern in London, addresses the themes of racism and colonialism. Her art, both provocative and impactful, continues to echo loudly in modern society.
Margarita Azurdia
Courtesy of awarewomenartists.com
Margarita Azurdia was a Guatemalan artist known for her abstract paintings and sculptures. She was also a poet and performance artist. Margarita was a master at blending geometric abstraction with native Guatemalan indigenous textile designs, which is how she paid homage to her country and cultural roots. She used bright, vibrant colors, and one of her most famous abstract paintings is “Pintura 1 (Painting 1).”
Tarsila do Amaral
Hailing from Brazil, Tarsila do Amaral is a significant figure in the Latin American modernist movement. Her work, like the iconic painting "Abaporu," combines elements of Cubism and Surrealism with a distinct Brazilian sensibility. She drew inspiration from indigenous art, creating pieces that were filled with local color, presenting Brazil's vibrant culture to the world.
Each of these phenomenal Latina artists revolutionized the art world in her own unique way. They serve as role models for us, demonstrating that our cultural heritage and personal experiences can be a source of strength and inspiration.
One of the few remaining stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican actress, singer, and dancer who has greatly inspired many Latinos. As an immigrant who landed in New York City when she was 5 years old, Moreno embodies the “American dream” because she overcame her humble beginnings and continuous racism in the industry to become a highly accomplished Latina actress in Hollywood.
Starring on Broadway and London’s West End, appearing in over 40 films and even more TV shows, and performing in many regional theaters, Moreno has cemented her place in the industry. Every step of the way, she has been fighting for Latino representation and she continues to do so to this day. At the age of 92, Moreno is still working, continuing her career of over 8 decades.
EGOT Status: a Rare Achievement
Perhaps one of the star’s biggest accomplishments is her EGOT status. Only 19 people have achieved this highly-coveted honor in the entire history of Hollywood and Moreno is the only Latina on the list. But is she recognized for it as much as she should? Is Rita Moreno considered a legend by the Hollywood elite? Well, you likely didn’t know about her EGOT status before this, and that already says a lot about how highlighted she has been by the powers that be.
But what does EGOT status even mean? It refers to the accomplishment of winning the 4 most important American entertainment awards. Namely, the Emmy, the Grammy, the Oscar, and the Tony. The term “EGOT” was coined by actor Philip Michael Thomas in the 80s and it’s one of the most prestigious accomplishments in the entertainment industry.
Rita Moreno’s EGOT Journey
Achieving EGOT status is a huge deal because it means that your talent goes beyond a single field. Rita Moreno is a great example of that. Her first win on the EGOT journey was the Oscar in 1961 for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “West Side Story.” A fun act about this is that she gave one of the shortest acceptance speeches in the history of the ceremony, simply saying, “I can’t believe it! Good Lord! I leave you with that.” Why was her speech so short? Because she decided she wouldn’t thank anyone. In a New York Times interview, she said, “I remember thinking very clearly, ‘Do not thank anyone.’ They didn’t give you the part as a favor. They were forced to give it to you because you did the best screen test.”
In 1972, Moreno took home a Grammy for Best Recording for Children, as the category was named at that time. She won this award for the cast recording of the PBS TV show called “The Electric Company.” Then, 3 years later, Moreno won a Tony for Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Googie Gomez in “The Ritz,” a play that was later turned into a movie where she was featured in the same role. Lastly, in 1977, Rita Moreno completed her EGOT by receiving an Emmy for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for her work on “The Muppet Show.”
Why Isn’t Rita Moreno a Hollywood Legend?
To say that Rita Moreno is an obscure figure in the industry wouldn’t be accurate, but the fact is that her accomplishments haven’t been as lauded as those of her fellow actors. Think of names that are often highlighted from Hollywood’s Golden Age, such as Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren, and many others. Rita Moreno should be on that list. So why isn’t she? Well, it may have something to do with the fact that immediately after winning her Oscar in 1961, she retired from Hollywood for 7 years.
That’s extremely odd because winning an Academy Award would launch anyone’s career into the stratosphere, especially if they’re so talented. Not for Latinos, though. From the get-go, Moreno was typecast into stereotypical ethnic or sexualized parts, as is often the case for Latinos in the industry. She fought that every step of the way, but the roles offered to her were often of illiterate or immoral characters, men’s playthings, and stereotyped, racist versions of Native Americans, Egyptians, Polynesians, and more.
Despite humiliations, she continued building her career, finally landing her breakout role in “West Side Story.” However, that didn’t change things for her. After her Oscar win, she was exclusively offered the same roles as before, so Moreno decided enough was enough. That’s when she pivoted to theater, TV, one-woman shows, and activism, fighting for Latino and women’s rights.
Eventually, she went back to Hollywood in 1968 and starred in “The Night of the Following Day.” Despite Hollywood’s best efforts, Rita Moreno has built a solid career and, at the age of 92, she’s still going strong. That doesn’t take away from the fact that she was robbed of the opportunity to become a household name. One has to wonder… What would’ve happened if Rita Moreno had been given the opportunities reserved for white actors at the time?
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Frida Kahlo is a pop culture icon not just in Mexico but around the world. Her multifaceted, fiercely lived existence, depicted in her deeply personal paintings, has resonated with people from all walks of life, but especially Latinas, both inside and outside of the United States.
One of the countless Latinas touched by Frida Kahlo’s work is Carla Gutierrez, an Emmy and Eddie nominated documentary editor who developed a strong connection with the artist. In an interview with Luz Media through Zoom, Gutierrez said, “I discovered her really young. I was a new immigrant and I saw her painting Self-portrait on the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States, and I was like, “Who is this artist that’s showing my own feelings to myself? That was the beginning of my obsession with her.”
That emotional connection with Kahlo and her work continued throughout Gutierrez’s life and is now cemented in her latest project and directorial debut, “Frida,” a raw and intimate documentary that tells the artist’s story through her own words from diaries, letters, essays, and interviews. Kahlo’s words, which are delivered in heartfelt narration by Fernanda Echevarría del Rivero, are accompanied by photos and her unforgettable artwork, brought to life through lyrical animations that add movement and feeling.
When asked why she decided to make this documentary, Gutierrez explained, “One of the reasons is because I hadn’t seen a documentary really focus on her voice. When I started looking into the story, I saw that she actually had a lot to say about her own life, and her words were out there in archival material. So I saw that there was an opportunity to let her actually speak and tell us her own story.”
And that’s exactly what she accomplished.
“Frida” tells the story of her life in chronological order, covering her childhood, the devastating accident that changed her life, and her tumultuous relationship with the famed muralist Diego Rivera, all the way up to her death. However, the documentary goes beyond a simple biography by showing her internal, emotional journey into becoming the artist and icon that she is today, and it feels like she’s truly the one speaking.
It’s an intimate narrative that doesn’t shy away from what many may think of as the “ugly” parts of life and doesn’t try to embellish either. In watching this documentary, viewers will feel like they’re sitting down with Kahlo herself as she opens up her inner world to them, revealing her joy, pain, love of life, and shortcomings.
Gutierrez also shared that, due to finding Kahlo’s work at such a pivotal time in her life, she developed an emotional connection with the artist. “Obviously, there’s millions of people in the world that have that emotional connection. So who am I [...] to say ‘Well then, I’ll tell her story’? But I was coming to her with that emotional connection and emotional understanding of the Latino culture, [...] and a lot of experience as a documentary editor putting these stories together [...], so I felt like I could bring something into this story,” she explained.
“Frida” is a project fueled by passion, creativity, and a desire to amplify the real voice of Frida Kahlo. As Gutierrez put it, “The aim is [...] how do we show somebody beyond the icon image we have of them? Which is kind of reduced and flattened. I think a lot of people see Frida as very empowered and she knew herself, but we really wanted to show the complexity and messiness that we all have.” Gutierrez continued by saying, “She [Frida Kahlo] guided us. In all the writings that we have of her, she’s not describing the things that happened; she’s telling us how she felt.”
The project is also fueled by Latino talent, as almost everyone who worked on it, from production and sound effects to animations and additional crew, is Latino, based in the U.S. and Mexico. As a predominantly Latino and female production, something Gutierrez is very proud of, the team was particularly passionate about honoring Kahlo and her art.
Portrait of Carla Gutiérrez, the director of the documentary "Frida"
Like many artists, Frida Kahlo’s recognition started growing after she died in 1954, so the world didn’t have the opportunity to dissect and understand her work with her. The iconic status that she gained after her death is still an amazing achievement, but there’s a tendency to separate her from her legacy.
“Frida” shows us that we can, indeed, understand the artist and her work with her. She left her feelings in her paintings and her words for us to find. This documentary unearths Frida Kahlo in a fresh, intimate way, allowing us a precious glimpse into who she really was as a woman. In showing us the depth and nuance of Kahlo, the documentary leaves viewers with valuable insights about resilience, vulnerability, womanhood, and more.
We asked Gutierrez what she hopes Latinas get out of this earnest documentary and she said, “In general, I want everybody to find the courage in what Frida did in expressing herself at her most intimate through her art. It was a process of catharsis for her and, in a way, it was therapy. What she lost in life, she kinda found in the creative process, and she did it with a lot of honesty and rawness.”
She continued, “I want Latinas to be inspired by that because sometimes in our culture, that’s not necessarily an important thing. Especially for women. To talk about how we feel, our heartaches, our experiences. They’re the most important things to speak about with honesty and it’s something that can help you and also the person listening.”
Viewers of this movie might be inspired to take a page out of Frida Kahlo’s book and live life as authentically, fiercely, and loudly as possible. “Frida” released March 14, 2023 on Prime Video.
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