Frida Kahlo in the context of "Culture of Mexico"

Votive paintings in Mexico go by several names in Spanish such as “ex voto,” “retablo” or “lámina,” which refer to their purpose, place often found, or material from which they are traditionally made respectively. The painting of religious images to give thanks for a miracle or favour received in this country is part of a long tradition of such in the world. The offering of such items has more immediate precedence in both the Mesoamerican and European lines of Mexican culture, but the form that most votive paintings take from the colonial period to the present was brought to Mexico by the Spanish. As in Europe, votive paintings began as static images of saints or other religious figures which were then donated to a church. Later, narrative images, telling the personal story of a miracle or favor received appeared. These paintings were first produced by the wealthy and often on canvas; however, as sheets of tin became affordable, lower classes began to have these painted on this medium. The narrative version on metal sheets is now the traditional and representative form of votive paintings, although modern works can be executed on paper or any other medium.

Narrative votive paintings can be found by the thousands in many locations in Mexico although certain shrines and sanctuaries such as that of the Virgin of Guadalupe and in Chalma attract a very large number of these. Due their proliferation, especially in the 18th and 19th century, many older votive paintings have left the places they were deposited and found their way into public and private collections. The collecting of these was begun by Diego Rivera, whose work, along with those of a number of other painters past and present, has been influenced by them. Frida Kahlo's collection of ex votos is on public display in her family home, which she later shared with Rivera, her husband.

Tehuantepec (Spanish pronunciation: [tewanteˈpek], in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre-Hispanic period as part of a trade route that connected Central America with what is now the center of Mexico. Later it became a secondary capital of the Zapotec dominion, before it was conquered by the Spanish in the early 16th century.

The city is still the center of Zapotec culture in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and is the second largest in the region. The city is known for its women and their traditional dress, which was adopted by Frida Kahlo. Tehuantepec has a reputation for being a matriarchal society. Women dominate the local markets and are known to taunt men. However, political power is still the domain of men.

The Dream (The Bed) (Spanish: El sueño (La cama)) is a 1940 self-portrait by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

It shows Kahlo asleep in a wooden bed that appears to float among clouds, wrapped in vines and leaves, while a papier-mâché skeleton wired with sticks of dynamite lies on the canopy above her. Commentators have connected the imagery to Kahlo’s chronic pain and long periods of enforced bed rest following a near-fatal bus accident in her youth, and to her preoccupation with the line between sleep and death.

The Frida Kahlo Museum (Spanish: Museo Frida Kahlo), also known as the The Blue House (La Casa Azul) for the structure's cobalt-blue walls, is a historic house museum and art museum dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. It is in the Colonia del Carmen neighborhood of Coyoacán in Mexico City. The building was Kahlo's birthplace, the home where she grew up, lived with her husband Diego Rivera for a number of years, and where she later died in a room on the upper floor. In 1957, Rivera donated the home and its contents to turn it into a museum in Kahlo's honor.

The museum contains a collection of artwork by Kahlo, Rivera, and other artists, along with the couple's Mexican folk art, pre-Hispanic artifacts, photographs, memorabilia, and personal items. The collection is displayed in the rooms of the house that remains much as it was in the 1950s.