- Title: Frida Kahlo's Casa Azul re-opens to public as Mexico City eases lockdown
- Date: 1st September 2020
- Summary: MUSICIAN PLAYING MARIMBA VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GOING THROUGH MUSEUM
- Embargoed: 15th September 2020 23:45
- Keywords: COVID-19 Casa Azul Frida Kahlo Mexico Mexico City coronavirus culture lockdown museums pandemic
- Location: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- City: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
- Country: Mexico
- Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment,Spain,South America / Central America,Mexico,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA002CTUZJNR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Frida Kahlo's home has re-opened to visitors in Mexico City on Tuesday (September 1) after five months of lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections.
Kahlo's Casa Azul, or the Blue House in English, is the artist's former residence. It is one of the capital's most popular tourist attractions, paying homage to Kahlo's life and works.
Visitors from as far as Spain were among the first to enter Casa Azul. Speaking to Reuters, they said the measures in place to stop coronavirus among visitors were good.
Museum capacity is set at 30%, visitors must wear masks and practise social distancing.
Museum officials said they had studied procedures put in place by other museums that have reopened amid the pandemic.
Kahlo began painting as a teenager while convalescing from a horrific tram crash in 1925. The accident and a legacy of childhood polio left her in constant physical pain and unable to have children. Taking to painting as a means of self-expression, Kahlo's suffering is depicted in her very raw works.
Since a hit Hollywood film on her life, Kahlo has emerged as an international icon.
Mexico has the third-highest death toll worldwide from the virus. As of Tuesday, the country has reported some 606,000 cases and more than 65,000 deaths.
(Production: Carlos Carrillo, Liamar Ramos) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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