Come to Mexico City for an art history tour to explore the lives of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera through their art.
2015 Schedule
- April 9 – 13, 2015
We will have a long weekend — 4 nights and 5 days, to learn about Diego Rivera‘s stunning Mexico City murals, visit Casa Azul where Diego and Frida Kahlo lived, and see the largest private collection of their work at the Dolores Olmedo Museum. Through their eyes, you will better understand Mexico’s political, cultural and social history.
If you want to register, send me an email.
Our guide is art historian Valeria Espitia, M.F.A., who shares her passion for the Mexican Muralists and narrates the expedition. She leads us through these spaces to give you the most meaningful educational experience:
- Palacio Nacional
- Palacio Bellas Artes
- Museo de Mural de Diego Rivera
- Secretaria de Educacion Publica (SEP)
- San Ildefonso National Preparatory School and Abelardo Rodriguez market
- Casa Azul — the home of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
- Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño
Casa Azul — Museo Frida Kahlo is a tribute to the life of both artists. Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño has the largest private collection of Frida and Diego paintings in the world. She was a benefactor and life-long personal friend of Rivera.
Plus, we will shop for outstanding folk art, and eat at local markets, historic and fine contemporary and traditional restaurants!
The trip includes:
- 4 nights lodging at a top-rated, historic center hotel
- guided discussions by art historian Valeria Espitia, MFA, educated at UNAM and Southern Methodist University
- visits to folk art galleries
- introduction to Norma’s favorite restaurants (meals not included)
- transportation to Casa Azul and Dolores Olmedo Museum
Preliminary Itinerary
- Day 1, Thursday: travel day, arrive and check into our hotel. Join in for an optional group welcome dinner (arrive by 6 p.m.)
- Day 2, Friday: guided visit to SEP, San Idlefonso, and the Abelardo Rodriguez market where Rivera’s students painted, optional group dinner
- Day 3, Saturday: guided visit to Palacio Bellas Artes and Museo Mural de Diego Rivera, optional folk art shopping
- Day 4, Sunday: guided visit to Casa Azul and Museo Dolores Olmedo Patiño
- Day 5, Monday: depart
Be ready to WALK and then, walk some more! Don’t forget to bring an extra suitcase to pack the treasures you pick up along the way.
Cost: $695 per person double occupancy. $995 per person single occupancy.
What the trip doesn’t include:
- breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, alcoholic beverages
- transportation to/from Mexico City
- museum admission fees
- mandatory international health/accident insurance
- tips for hotels, meals and other services
Cost: $695 per person double occupancy. $995 per person single occupancy. Maximum: 6 people.
Optional: Arrive early and/or stay later to discover Mexico City and her incredible museums and restaurants. We will provide you with a list of recommendations to explore on your own. $200 per day per person additional. Tell us your dates and we will make your hotel reservations and include this in your invoice.
Reservations and Cancellations
A 50% deposit will guarantee your spot. The final payment for the balance is due 45 days before the program start date. Payment shall be made by PayPal. We will send you an itemized PayPal invoice.
Please understand that we make lodging and other arrangements months in advance of the program. Deposits or payments in full are often required by our hosts. If cancellation is necessary, please tell us in writing by email. After 45 days before the program starts, no refunds are possible. However, we will make every possible effort to fill your reserved space or you may send a substitute. If you cancel on or before the 45 day date, we will refund 50% of your deposit.
Required–Travel Health/Accident Insurance: We require that you carry international accident/health/emergency evacuation insurance. Proof of insurance must be sent at least two weeks before departure. If you do not wish to do this, we ask you email a PDF of a signed and witnessed waiver of liability, holding harmless Norma Hawthorne and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. Unforeseen circumstances happen!
To register, email us at normahawthorne@mac.com. We accept payment with PayPal only. Thank you.
This workshop is produced by Norma Hawthorne, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC. We reserve the right to adjust the itinerary and substitute leaders without notice.
Diego Rivera Murals in San Francisco: Critical Guide for Visiting
There are three Diego Rivera frescoes in San Francisco, California. To get in to see them all is not easy, but it is well worth the effort. It was an incredible treat to be able to see these frescoes up close and personal. A word of advice: it’s very important to plan and confirm your visits in advance.
In Mexico, Rivera intended his murals to be accessible to the public. That was an important social and political premise of the Mexican Muralist Movement — art for and of the people. All are filled with consistent Rivera themes: the worker, the common soldier, the peasant farmer and industry. These murals mirror those in Mexico City of the same era (like Man, Controller of the Universe) and I recognize similar scenes and characters.
Looking for Diego Rivera + Frida Kahlo in Mexico City: 3-Day Art History Tour
These are the three murals in order of their creation:
Pan American Unity, left half
Pan American Unity, right half
These are the three murals in order of accessibility:
San Francisco Art Institute
The most accessible fresco is The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City at the San Francisco Art Institute, open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. This is a private, degree-granting university. Doors are open to students and to the public Monday through Friday. Check for weekend hours. The challenge is to find parking around the steep Cow Hollow hills. But if you are in a taxi or take UBER, no worries.
The mural is at the end of a student exhibition gallery space on the main level to the left of the entry courtyard. We followed good directional signs to get there. Once inside, the floor to ceiling wall art dominates the space.
This is a painting within a painting. Rivera included himself (back to viewer, with his ample frame centered on the scaffolding) with helpers making a fresco. His patrons who financed the project are part of the set. It reminds me of the caricature portraits we see at the Palacio Nacional depicting the history of Mexico that Rivera started in 1929 at about the same time. In fact, this Mexico City mural was not completed for another ten years because of commissions like this one in the U.S. It is very Rivera with a bold figures, the central one wearing a red star. You will see a lot of similarities here if you are familiar with his style.
There is a small donation box in front suggesting support for mural preservation. We didn’t find hand-out information, art history notes or guestbook. The best descriptions are online, which I suggest you read before visiting.
800 Chestnut Street (between Jones and Leavenworth), San Francisco, CA 94133. Phone: 415-771-7020
Looking for Diego Rivera + Frida Kahlo in Mexico City: 3-Day Art History Tour
City College of San Francisco
Located in the Sunset on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, City College of San Francisco boasts a comprehensive historical reference mural to The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and the South on this Continent. Informally called The Pan American Unity Mural, Rivera painted it in 1940 for the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island.
He was invited by civic and arts leaders to participate in the Exposition’s “Art in Action” program, joining other prominent artists. Fair-goers watched while Rivera and his assistants painted!
Frida Kahlo, who marries Rivera for the second time in San Francisco in 1940, stands front and center, while Rivera, his back to the viewer, holds the hand of actress Paulette Goddard. This mural is the most political of the three San Francisco pieces and is parallel in style to the Palacio Nacional mural of the same era, each featuring the founding fathers of Mexico and the USA.
Because of state funding cuts, visiting hours at SFCC are limited. Please consult the website to see when there is a volunteer faculty/staff member scheduled to open the Diego Rivera Theatre where the mural can be seen.
This important mural is housed in a very cramped space. I was told that for years the intent has been to build a larger gallery to view it. But … the college depends on designated private gifts to realize project goals. A small donation box sits in front of the mural. We gave more than requested for a beautiful, thorough art history brochure with color photo. Thanks to the college for providing this!
Notes: Be sure to walk upstairs to a small balcony (don’t trip, it’s also used for storage) to get the most expansive view of the mural. From above, the center view is obstructed by a large carved wood sculpture that obstructs the experience. Free street parking available.
50 Phelan Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112. Viewing Hours are posted on the website. Phone only goes to voicemail: 415-452-5313
The City Club of San Francisco
Rivera asked Olympic swimmer Helen Willis to model.
Our experience at The City Club of San Francisco, an exclusive, members only space on the 10th floor of the former Pacific Stock Exchange, proved that you can’t always trust what you read online, even from USA Today. We read the mural was open for viewing from 3 to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Not exactly true.
We found out the hard way that you can only gain entrance to see the mural if you make an appointment in advance with a City Club staffer. Denied entry and after repeated phone calls from the lobby that all went to voicemail, we finally connected with a live person. When I introduced myself and requested a visit, I got a harsh scolding about not having an appointment, a tirade about this being a private club, a rant about not to trust internet information, then a reluctant agreement to allow us upstairs to see the mural for ten minutes. We were shocked by staff behavior because of the club’s great reputation for hospitality.
As we emerged from the elevator, the staffer hid a candy jar from her desktop where she sits sentry on the landing in front of the mural. Seems other riffraff before us dipped into the candy dish and she is keeping a watchful eye.
Lobby, Stock Exchange Tower
The staffer we met is definitely the gatekeeper. You need to call in advance, make an appointment and purr. I wouldn’t say you know me.
Do you think Diego would roll over in his grave?
Stock Exchange Tower, 155 Sansome Street, San Francisco, CA 94104. Phone: 415-362-2480
Recommendations:
View from the rooftop terrace, SF Art Institute with Alcatraz.
Looking for Frida Kahlo + Diego Rivera in Mexico City: Art History Tour
Suggested Visiting Route:
A BIG thank you to East Bay friend Mary Ann for organizing this day and driving to all parts of The City.
Coit Tower from the SF Art Institute rooftop terrace. See the Bay Bridge?
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