Frida Kahlo’s voice, an enigma for so many years, has been located, according to the National Sound Library of Mexico.
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The national library says it has discovered what is believed to be the first known voice recording of the famous artist. It was recorded for the pilot episode of a 1955 radio show 'El Bachiller', which was only aired after her death in 1954.
The episode was a profile of Kahlo’s husband Diego Rivera in which she read from her essay “Portrait of Diego.”
“He is a gigantic, immense child, with a friendly face and a sad gaze,” Kahlo read in Spanish during the recording.
“His high, dark, extremely intelligent and big eyes rarely hold still. They almost come out of their sockets because of their swollen and protuberant eyelids – like a toad’s. They allow his gaze to take in a much wider visual field as if they were built especially for a painter of large spaces and crowds,” read the famed artist.
The recording are thought to have been made in 1953 or 1954.
Alejandra Frausto, the Mexican secretary of culture said that if the recordings are verified as Kahlo’s voice, they could be the only existing audio of her. Authorities, however, are investigating the recording.
“It’s a finding that has many elements that can be identified as the probable voice of Frida Kahlo, but it isn’t 100% certain,” said Alejandra Frausto.
The library is working to preserve and document sound archives of Mexico. The collection features voices of some of the most important historical figures.
“Frida’s voice has always been a great enigma, a never-ending search,” Pavel Granados, the library director told the press. “Until now, there had never been a recording of Frida Kahlo.”
The radio show was named after its host Alvaro Galvez y Fuentes “El Bachiller” who was described by the ministry of culture as “the main documentalist of the voices of his time.”
Kahlo, whose spent long periods bed-ridden after a traffic accident in her youth, was the creator of some 200 paintings, sketches, and drawings—mainly self-portraits—in which she depicted her misfortune and surroundings into detailed works of art in bold color.
She attained international fame after her death in 1954, and rose to feminist icon status in the 1970s.