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Posts Tagged ‘Mexico’

A Little Remedy Against Indian Arrows

Posted in Frontier Tales, tagged "Comanche War Party on the March, Comanche Indians, Comancheria, George Catlin, Indian arrows, Indian attacks, Indian depredations, Mexico, oil painting, scalping, Texas, Texas frontier, Texas independence, Texas settlement, Texas-Indian relations on February 22, 2010| 4 Comments »

"Comanche War Party on the March, Fully Equipped," oil painting by George Catlin, 1846-1848. By the time Texas won its independence from Mexico in 1836, the frontier war between the settlers and the Comanche Indians was at full throttle, with brutal attacks being waged on both sides.

Here is an article that appeared in an 1840 Texas newspaper:

A little remedy against Indian arrows:

Take about 16 or 24 sheets of common blotting paper; lay between them some thin layers of cotton or silk; make a kind of jacket of it to be put on in the moment of danger, and you will be invulnerable from the chin to the leg, from the most of Indian arrows and even bullets. It is no more cowardice than to stand behind a tree or to be a cuirassier [a mounted soldier wearing armor]; and in our big European wars, the lives of many thousands of brave soldiers were thus preserved. I recommend it by experience.

H. Mollhausen, captain of artillery

Texas Sentinel, March 1840

Readers, other posts of similar interest are:

“The Scalping of Robert McGee”

“The Scalping of Josiah Wilbarger”

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What Did Elvis and Diego Rivera Have in Common? (No, Not Frida!)

Posted in Diego Rivera, Elvis, Frida Kahlo, PEOPLE, tagged biographies of artists, biographies of Hispanic artists, biographies of singers, Diego Rivera, Diego Rivera had a twin, Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley had a twin, Frida Kahlo, Graceland, Guanajato, Memphis Tennessee, Mexico, the flower carrier by diego rivera, Tupelo Mississippi on February 2, 2010| 2 Comments »

Diego Rivera shown with wife, Frida Kahlo. Frida's mother called them "the Elephant and the Dove."

Elvis Presley at his shiniest

What did Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and rock sensation Elvis Presley have in common?

They both had twin brothers who died.

Diego Rivera and his twin brother Carlos were born on December 8, 1886 in Guanajato, Mexico. Carlos, however, died eighteen months later.

"The Flower Carrier" by Diego Rivera (1886-1957)

On January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, Gladys Presley gave birth to identical twin boys. The first one, Jesse Garon Presley, was stillborn. Thirty-five minutes later, Elvis Aaron (Aron) Presley entered this world. Gladys told Elvis that, as the surviving twin, he had been destined for great things.

READERS: For more posts on Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, click here.

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Frida Had Polio (Pt. 1)

Posted in Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, PEOPLE, tagged biographies of artists, biographies of HIspanic women, biographies of sick women, biographies of women, biographies of women artists, Childhood Polio, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Frida Kahlo had polio, Frida Kahlo photos, Frida Kahlo pictures, Mexican art, Mexico on January 22, 2010| 13 Comments »

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)

At the age of six, Frida Kahlo was stricken with polio. It affected her right leg. She spent nine months in bed.

“‘It all began with a horrible pain in my right leg from the muscle downward,” she remembered. ‘They washed my little leg in a small tub with walnut water and small hot towels.'”

Once she was out of bed, her doctor insisted that Frida exercise to build up her weaker leg. Her father got her involved in all kinds of sports, a decidedly male domain in 1914 Mexico. However, Frida played soccer, boxed, wrestled, and became a champion swimmer. (1) She climbed trees, rowed on the lakes of Chapultepec Park, and played ball.

Frida Kahlo is shown at far right, with sister Cristina (l) and best friend Isabel Campos (c). The photo was taken by Frida’s father, Guillermo Kahlo, in 1919, when Frida was about 12.

Despite her best efforts, her right leg remained very skinny. To disguise that fact, she wore three or four socks on her thin calf and shoes with a built-up right heel. While some of her friends admired her stamina despite her deformity, other children teased her:

“Frida’s childhood friend, the painter Aurora Reyes, says: ‘We were quite cruel about her leg. When she was riding her bicycle, we would yell at her, ‘Frida, pata de palo!’ [Frida, peg leg], and she would respond furiously with lots of curses.'”

Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera at a demonstration of the Syndicate of Technical Workers, Painters, and Sculptors, May 1, 1929

In this photo, Frida is shown marching in a skirt that hits below the knee – thus exposing her obviously thinner right calf. Not long after this photo was taken, Frida began to wear elaborate, floor-length skirts – to hide her emaciated leg from public view.

Frida Kahlo with pigeons, ca. 1940s by Juan Guzmán.