The Other Fridas : The Lives and Works of Latin American Women Artists

The Other Fridas: The Lives and Works of Latin American Women Artists explores the lives of prominent and lesser known artists from a dozen different countries, and seeks to understand their artistic contributions and their complex lives. Frida Kahlo is one of the most recognizable women artists of the Western world and an icon of feminism. Yet, Latin America has produced many other women artists who, like Kahlo, challenged conventions of their day, transgressed gender stereotypes, and significantly contributed to cultural and artistic realms. Most have been overshadowed by their male counterparts; and while some have been recognized in their home countries, the vast majority have remained in obscurity at home and abroad. This collection brings together sixteen essays, and features such artists as Chilean composer Violeta Parra, Cuban painter Belkis Ayón, nineteenth-century Portuguese-Brazilian actress Maria Velluti, Puerto Rican painter and sculptor Luisa Géigel Brunet, and many more. This book celebrates the lives and creativity of these underrecognized artists, and the contributions that they have made towards Latin American art.