I met Frida when I was just eight years old in Ms. Gilberti's classroom. I met her through a book. It was one of the only, or perhaps the only, book in Spanish in my classroom. I took refuge in the language and the colorful story of a little, Mexican girl who loved to paint. I read this book daily and sometimes even after I had just finished reading it, I would plunge back into its pages. 

At that time, it was only about two years since my family and I had moved to the valley. I knew very little about myself: I was a girl, I was Mexican, and I liked art. In my mind, I didn't care if that book was telling the story of the world's most famous Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo, or if it was really just telling my personal story. Frida Kahlo became an obsession for me, her life, her personality, her art, and her strength. This was during the time before her image exploded and all kinds of merchandise were sold with her face. For me, she was already Saint Frida. 

During my years in college studying fine arts, I took a myriad of art history courses. In every course I took, be it ceramics, painting, printmaking, etc., the professors typically made some reference to a famous artist or a great master in their artistic milieu. But in none of those courses did I find Frida Kahlo. How was it possible that someone as famous as her, whose face was stamped everywhere, was not in the history books? 

As an art student, I didn't see myself represented anywhere. Not only did I not find Frida, but I also did not find Latin artists. Where were they? It wasn’t possible that the only Latin artists I met, Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, were the only ones who ever existed. Most of the great masters were American and European men. Within how I identified myself: woman, Mexican, and artist, we only had in common the love of art. My perspective and my experiences as a Mexican woman were too different, I didn't see myself in that world and I didn't know how to express myself. 

The importance of representation goes beyond art, it is everywhere. Visualizing yourself in any career, whether as an artist, professional athlete, mathematician, etc., is the ability to manifest in our lives what inspires us. I recently read the book, The Impossible First, by Colin O'Brady, which recounts his experience as the first man in world history to have crossed Antarctica unassisted and unsupported. O'Brady has an impressive resume of achievements and world records. In his book, O'Brady narrates that at the age of seven, he was inspired by Pablo Morales during his triumph at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 where he won the gold medal in swimming. From there, O'Brady dreamed of the day that he, too, would stand on a podium receiving a medal. 

We all have heroes and heroines who have inspired us and made us ask ourselves, "If he or she could, maybe I can too." There are countless examples of such stories. There will be those who may be the first to break the mold for the simple fact of not finding those who represent us. It is not that we all have to be remembered in history as someone important. Rabindranath Tagore wrote, "He who plants a tree knowing that he will never sit in its shade has at least begun to understand the meaning of life." I wonder, what would have happened to me if Frida, instead of painting during the time she was bedridden had knitted? What would have happened if instead of being a stubborn and courageous woman, she had been docile and submissive? We may die before we know if we've ever inspired someone.

At the end of last year, the Denver Art Museum had an exhibition titled, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism. It was the first time since I read the children's book, Frida by Jonah Winter, that I saw Frida Kahlo paintings in person. It was like having her in the flesh, but also, it was a feeling of pride to be Mexican, to see myself represented, and to learn about how many international and Latino artists were based in Mexico City and its surroundings as the mecca of art during that time. To the non-artist, in whom do you see yourself represented? And if you can't find it, what are you waiting for? Be the one who sows that seed so that others can enjoy the shade and the fruits of the tree of your achievements.