The Kahlo family is unveiling long-held secrets about legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo with the opening of a new Casa Kahlo Museum this weekend. Located near the iconic Casa Azul in Mexico City's historic Coyoacán neighborhood, this newly opened museum offers visitors an unprecedented intimate glimpse into the personal life and family dynamics that shaped one of the world's most celebrated artists.

The Casa Kahlo Museum occupies the house that originally belonged to Frida Kahlo's parents, who purchased it after giving their daughter the famous Casa Azul as a wedding gift. This lesser-known family home tells a different but deeply intertwined story, one that reveals the human side of the artist behind the iconic image. Museum director Adán García emphasizes that visitors will discover "a more humane approach to her story, to her origins," noting that "behind the great artist was a child who struggled with polio and who was fond of her father and her mother."

The museum's crown jewel is Frida's beloved basement, a space that served as her personal sanctuary and refuge. As a child, Frida loved collecting insects and examining their wings under a microscope, which is now displayed in this very basement. Later in life, when married to Diego Rivera, she would retreat to this underground space during times of conflict. "When she fought with Diego, she would come here to the basement for refuge," explains Frida's great-niece, Mara Romeo Kahlo. "It was like her place of peace; this was her home." The basement houses a unique collection including votive offerings painted by Frida herself and Asian dolls she purchased during a trip to San Francisco.

The museum's kitchen holds particular significance, featuring the only documented murals painted by Frida Kahlo. Romeo Kahlo recalls having breakfast in this kitchen surrounded by these vibrant murals depicting flowers and fruit trees, inspired by plants from the house's garden. The murals were accidentally preserved when they were painted over during a kitchen modernization, and after special restoration treatment, they now shine in their full glory. A playful inscription reads "the inn of the sparrows," a Spanish pun on "gorrones" (uninvited guests) that sounds like "gorriones" (sparrows), reflecting the family's open-door policy. "Anyone who came, whether invited or not, could always find a place at this table," García notes.

Visitors can step into the photography studio and darkroom of Frida's father, Guillermo Kahlo, where an interactive camera demonstrates the black-and-white photo development process. The museum displays photographs of young Guillermo and tells his remarkable story of immigration from Germany to Mexico, his first marriage, his two daughters from that union, and how he met Frida's mother, Matilde Calderón. As a celebrated photographer, Guillermo Kahlo achieved the distinction of becoming the first official photographer for Mexican President Porfirio Díaz.

The museum sheds new light on crucial family relationships, particularly highlighting Frida's younger sister Cristina, who García describes as "the other half of her heart." Cristina served as Frida's caregiver through numerous surgeries and medical procedures throughout her adult life. Beyond her role as caregiver, Cristina founded a charity to help single mothers, reflecting the family's commitment to social causes. Romeo Kahlo remembers how "every Saturday, the gate was opened here and a basic food basket was given for more than 500 single women."

The museum also provides fresh perspective on Frida's relationship with her mother Matilde, a figure historically overshadowed by her photographer father. Romeo Kahlo reveals that "they had a close relationship," and that her great-grandmother Matilde was actually the first to wear flowers in her hair – the iconic look long associated with Frida. The family's decision to paint the house red and maintain that color over the years symbolizes "the heart of the Kahlo family," according to Romeo Kahlo.

Among the museum's treasures are extensive family correspondence, including letters from Frida marked with kisses of Mexican pink lipstick. Curator Adriana Miranda explains that "these letters provided the guideline to write all these anecdotes that you'll discover throughout the museum." Visitors can admire dresses with intricate embroidery and pieces of pre-Hispanic jewelry that Frida famously wore in photographs. The preserved bathroom recalls Frida's 1938 painting "What the Water Gave Me," featuring her feet in a bathtub.

The museum displays "A Tray of Poppies," one of Frida Kahlo's earliest works, alongside a mirror that Frida had specially made for a New York exhibition. Architect David Rockwell, a board member of the Kahlo Foundation, collaborated with the family to create the exhibition spaces, rebuilding certain sections like the curved courtyard steps to more closely resemble the house's original state. Artists from across Mexico were commissioned to create the various pottery pieces and elements that compose the patio.

Rockwell praises the house's warmth, noting "the warmth of the material, the warmth of tile, the quality of the wood, the care that's been taken into restoring it." He particularly admires the varied ceilings, explaining that "all these ceilings are quite different, they all create different kinds of atmospheres and conditions." The Casa Kahlo Museum is located at Aguayo 54 in the Carmen neighborhood of Coyoacán, Mexico City, offering art lovers and cultural enthusiasts a new lens through which to understand the complex family dynamics and personal struggles that shaped one of history's most influential artists.