HWS News
19 February 2018 The Relationship between singer Chavela Vargas and artist Frida Kahlo
Ana Alonso-Minutti, an associate professor of music at the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico, presented a talk exploring the sentiments and relationship between singer Chavela Vargas and artist Frida Kahlo as expressed through Vargas' music. The talk, "Chavelas Frida: Emancipatory Songs of Love and Pain," was held on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in the Sanford Room of the Warren Hunting Smith Library.
Both Vargas, a prominent musician, and Kahlo, a renowned painter, are best known for their contributions to the arts in Latin America. In the mid-1940s, Kahlo was rumored to have had an affair with Vargas while married to muralist Diego Rivera. Their alleged relationship, while never confirmed, protested the social code of Mexico at the time.
Alonso-Minutti received her undergraduate degree in music from Universidad de las Amricas, Puebla, and later a master's and Ph.D. in musicology from the University of California, Davis where her studies focused on the musical traditions of Mexico, as well as the exploration of race, class, gender, religion and sexuality in music. Her work has been published in numerous academic journals and has been presented at various conferences across North America, South America and Europe.
The talk was hosted by the Spanish and Hispanic Studies Department. For more information contact Visiting Assistant Professor Juan Manuel Portillo at portillo@hws.edu.