Mexico, .- Very few people knew her until now, but this Wednesday the National Music Library of Mexico unveiled at a press conference the first recording of what can be the voice of Frida Kahlo, an icon of twentieth-century Mexican art .
More specifically, it would be an intervention by Kahlo during the performance of a radio profile of her husband, the muralist Diego Rivera, in a “pilot program” directed by the famous Mexican broadcaster Álvaro Gálvez y Fuentes, better known as “El Bachiller” .
The intervention of the artist would have been based on the reading of a text written by herself in 1949, called “Portrait of Diego”, in which she described her husband.
Frida’s words were recorded in 1953 or 1954, according to the director of the Fonoteca, Pável Granados.
During this speech a voice marked by its sweetness and undeniable beauty is distinguished, Granados described.
According to the calculations of the specialists, the “pilot program” was recorded around 1955, after Frida’s death in 1954 and before Rivera’s death in 1957.
Among the evidences that allow to affirm that this is the voice of Kahlo is the assertion of the speaker after the intervention of the artist. The journalist assures that the one who has just spoken is the Mexican creator.
In addition, studies have been conducted on this voice and it has been ruled out that it is that of a professional announcer due to the pauses of breathing that the protagonist would take and that several times a tendency to “lisp” is observed.
“This intervention is not recorded in a studio, but abroad, with a portable recorder,” confirmed the director of the Music Library.
The aforementioned record would have been obtained last January, when Granados traveled to Huamantla, in the state of Tlaxcala, where he met a W Radio announcer who claimed to have a recording of Diego Rivera singing.
It was after reviewing these sound records when it was observed that there was a possible intervention by Kahlo. Right at this moment the studies of the material began.
In addition to the relevant analyzes, several people who knew Frida were also asked, including Guadalupe Rivera, who confirmed that this was the voice of the artist. However, Esteban Volkov, grandson of Leon Trosky, expressed his concerns about it.
But, at the same time, the researchers indicated that it is very complicated to remember a voice after more than 60 years without hearing it again. Especially if it is not the tone usually used during the conversation, as is the case since Kahlo during the speech was found reciting a text.
Anyway, and to get a full confirmation, we wanted to make this recording public so that it could be submitted to the study of other researchers. For this reason, the investigations continue in course.
Until now, “the most sought-after voices in the National Sound are those of Miguel Hidalgo, the hero of Mexican independence, and that of Frida Kahlo,” assured Pável Granados.
Of Hidalgo there is no possibility of obtaining records, since it is a personality that died in 1811 and the first sound recordings did not arrive until the middle of the 19th century.
It is not the case of Kahlo’s voice, which could be heard after the finding presented on Wednesday. Yes, with the caution shown this Wednesday by authorities and experts. (EFE)
