Sunday, July 7, 1996Play controversy mirrors identity
Editor:
I was surprised at the paucity of relevant biography in John
Digrado’s piece, "Seven walk out over actor’s race; students oppose
Caucasian’s role in production on Frida Kahlo’s life" which
appeared on the front page of the Daily Bruin on Wednesday, May 22.
Apparently the walkout was to protest graduate student director
Ruben Amavizca’s casting of a Caucasian woman in the role of Frida
Kahlo in the graduate student production.
Magdelena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon was born in Coyoacan,
then a town on the outskirts of Mexico City, in 1907. Her father,
Guillermo Kahlo, a professional photographer, was a
Hungarian-Jewish immigrant from Germany. Her mother, Matilde
Calderon, was a religious Catholic mestiza from Oaxaca. Kahlo’s
emotional ambivalence about her origins and identity seem to be
captured in her 1939 masterpiece, "Las Dos Fridas" (The Two
Fridas), on display at the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.
It seems that the ambiguity of Frida Kahlo’s ethnic identity is
mirrored in the controversy about casting the actress who portrays
her.
Eran Zaidel
Professor
Psychology
Squeezing out every last dime
Editor:
This year, for the first time, visitors to UCLA’s commencement
were charged for parking. I find this an incredibly poor public
relations move, considering that parents have just paid thousands
of dollars to the university!
Charging an additional $5 is bound to leave a bad taste in the
mouths of visitors. I sincerely hope that the administrators
responsible will reconsider this policy.
Roxane Winkler
UCLA Graduate
Parent of UCLA Graduate