Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Home-Study Museum by Els Slots
The quality of Mexico’s Tentative List at first glance doesn’t reflect the status of its inscribed sites, which shine at a 3.51 score overall at the moment. Also, the country hasn’t any nominations scheduled for 2022 or 2023. There has been some chatter about the Kino Missions. The most advanced in the process however are the Wixárita Route through the Sacred Sites to Wirikuta, the Ring of cenotes of the Chicxulub crater, and Casa Estudio Museum Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. So as this last one is still on the table, it is a worthy TWHS to invest time in while you’re in Mexico City.
The house lies in a very upscale neighborhood where people don’t seem to need public transport. So I had to rely on an Uber to take me there. Pre-booking a ticket is not necessary, though they do perform a slightly irritating form of Covid crowd management. The entrance fee is only 40 pesos (1,80 EUR).
There’s a signposted route that takes you through all 3 included buildings. As other reviewers have mentioned, it is hard to look past the Kahlo and Rivera connotations and focus on its architecture. The Rivera Studio is the most impressive feature, for both its weird collection of papier-mâché figures and its floor-to-ceiling windows. All rooms are now used for small exhibitions, it would be better when at least one of them was devoted to the architect Juan O’Gorman.
I especially liked the exterior staircases and the exposed downspouts of the buildings. Also notable are the large sliding windows in the third building (Juan O'Gorman's study house). All considered, it’s a nice place to visit but not remarkable enough for a WHS in my opinion, as it is very much inspired by Le Corbusier.