Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s Houses & Studios Museum in Colonia San Angel

We decide to take a taxi to our next stop which is the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo’s house-study museum. It is located in the Colonia San Angel. There is a taxi stand outside Frida’s house and we ask if the taxi is metered. The taxi driver informs us that it is not and that the rate for where we want to go is 80 pesos. We agree, and get into the taxi, and watch the driver unplug the meter!! He then appears to drive round in circles for 15 minutes so that we will be happy with the fare, before depositing us at our destination.
The entrance fee to this museum is much less, a mere 10 pesos, but within minutes we wish we hadn’t paid it. This is the living quarters Frieda and Diego moved to after they left Frida’s house. It is built by Juan O’Gorman and is two three story houses connected by a roof top walkway. The style is Functionalist but the only interesting room is Diego’s studio, and the work on display is mainly by other artists of the same period, and not nearly as interesting. We are only there for 15 minutes.

We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering the streets of Colonia San Angel. This looks to be Mexico City’s version of Beverley Hills. The streets are lined with huge impressive mansions in huge impressive grounds. Most of them have armed guards and gatehouses. They are built in either a Mexican Colonial Style or an Art Deco style, and are quite fabulous in an over the top sort of way, which is the only way to be quite fabulous in my view!
The main shopping street is lined with glitzy stores bearing the names of famous designers. The side streets are narrow and cobbled, often ending in small beautifully kept squares surrounded by large beautifully kept houses. Palm trees are everywhere, their trunks often wrapped in towering bougainvillea. If one had to live in Mexico City, this is clearly where one would live, given an appropriate bank balance.
The nearest Metro station is some way away and we walk for about 20 minutes, finally coming to an area near the university. There is a street full of bookstores selling books both old and new, and the sidewalk is lined with street vendors selling old books. We spot one with a few interesting looking prints and Gordon excitedly recognises one by G. Fernandez Lodesma, one of Mexico’s leading early 20th century artists. Closer examination shows that it is a signed and numbered original print with plate marks. We look around for the owner but the stall is completely unattended. We wait a few minutes, with Gordon getting more excited by the moment. Finally we see a rather scraggly looking man in a violently red sweater running towards us waving a coffee cup in his hand. Of course, by this time it is impossible to pretend we are not really interested in the print, but just wondering how much it is. He looks us up and down and quotes $250 pesos (about $20). Gordon turns to me and tries to look shocked and appalled but the grin on his face gives away his true feelings. But I insist we don’t pay him the asking price and offer $150 pesos. The man readily agrees and snatches the money away from us. He clearly thinks he has scored. And so do we. The perfect arrangement.