Today our quest brings us to an interesting yet controversial brand of tequila. Frida Kahlo Tequila. It was created by Isolda P. Kahlo, the niece of the influential Mexican painter. She is the founder of
"The Frida Kahlo Corporation" who markets the brand. She also claims the right to license products using the artist’s name and image.
As you can see above the bottle design was done in a style that seems to capture Frida's true essence.
Lorenzo Bustillos Galavis a 32 year old industrial designer originally from Caracas worked with
JuanCo to artfully design the label. Unfortunately when we went to the JuanCo website it would not open any further than the front page.
The controversy around this issue was brought to our attention on a blog by Mark Vallen called
"Art For A Change". Mark insists that we all boycott Frida Kahlo Tequila. He claims that "turning the Frida Kahlo legacy into a brand name tequila is the final straw when it comes to the "Fridamania" cult promoted by the unscrupulous capitalists the artist railed against her entire life".
Vallen's blog post goes on to argue his case by mentioning how art critic and author Raquel Tibol, who befriended Kahlo at the end of the artist’s life, displayed outrage over the painter’s niece exploiting the legacy of Kahlo. Tibol is quoted as saying "This is a dirty shame! Who gave them permission to use her name? Isolda has gone mad in her desire to make money from her family name. This time she’s stepped over the line, it’s a total lack of respect!"
Apparently Tibol’s criticism is well founded. In 1955, just a few years before his death, Diego Rivera established the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, an institution run by the Banco De Mexico. The trust was created to hold the works, possessions, and homes of the two artists as a public treasure. It would appear the trust is the only organization authorized to legally give permission to use Kahlo’s name for commercial purposes, or as Tibol put it, "According to the will of Diego Rivera and the establishment of the Foundation, all profitable use of Frida Kahlo must go to the Foundation."
Isolda P. Kahlo and her Frida Kahlo Corporation are marketing lies when they equate Frida’s consumption of tequila with "her love for Mexico, her strength and her passion for life. Tequila, her favorite drink, accompanied her in the greatest moments of her life." The idea of the artist’s alcoholism being somehow romantic could not be further from the truth. It was not a sense of romanticism that led Kahlo to drink a bottle of tequila a day, but the debilitating pain she endured from the accident suffered in her youth. Add to that the grief she experienced with husband Diego, and it’s plain to see that drink was not so much a pleasure for Frida as it was an escape.
So..... We would encourage all of you to think carefully before buying and consuming a bottle of this tequila. It is our job to promote the conscious consumption of tequila, not to tell you what to do.
If you do choose to drink Frida Kahlo Tequila, please do it with reverence for Frida's art and her legacy. At the very least, raise a glass to her.
Salud Frida!
Today our quest brings us to the end of 2007. This year will always be remembered as the birth year of Tequila Savvy. The year we began our quest for the ultimate tequila. In some places 2008 has already begun. Whether you have already toasted to the new year or have plans to later, be sure to raise a glass of your favorite tequila with friends and family. 
