Skate deck made of 7 ply grade A Canadian maple wood.
©2025 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico, D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
In Self-Portrait as a Tehuana (also known as Thinking of Diego), Frida Kahlo doesn’t just paint herself—she makes a statement. Draped in the traditional white lace headdress of the women from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec—a symbol of strength, femininity, and indigenous pride—Frida transforms into a sort of patron saint of impossible love.
But the most striking detail isn’t the dress or the flowers. It’s on her forehead: Diego Rivera’s face is painted like a tattooed thought on her mind. Because when Frida loves, she does it with the intensity of an erupting volcano and the precision of Oaxacan embroidery. Diego on My Mind, as the alternate title says, and there’s no doubt he occupies her mind, her canvas, and—quite possibly—her sleepless nights.
Her gaze is calm, almost stoic, yet the black threads extending from her headdress—like roots or tangled thoughts—suggest that love, for her, is not just a matter of the heart. It is identity, obsession, inner struggle, and also creation.
With this portrait, Frida shows us that love isn’t always soft or decorative. Sometimes it’s a crown that weighs heavy, a tattooed memory, a reason to keep painting... even through tears.
