rnandez 2several people were killed on the spot. Alejandro Gomez, Frida’s boyfriend at the time described the accident and said that among the iron rods of the train, the handrail broke and went through Frida from one side to the other at the level of the pelvis (104). Frida Kahlo was left with a broken spinal column, a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, a broken pelvis, and eleven fractures in her right leg. In addition her right foot was dislocated and crushed, and her shoulder was out of joint. For a month, Frida was forced to stay flat on her back, encased in a plaster cast and enclosed in a boxlike structure. The steel handrail from the tram had literally gone through her body at the level of the abdomen; entering on the left side, it had gone out through the vagina. Due to this accident, Frida underwent thirty different operations and three miscarriages. It was during this time that Frida Kahlo discovered her talent for painting and drawing, also during this challenging time for her she produced “The Broken Spine”. Having to depend on everyone but herself, Kahlo portrays herself as weak and helpless. She depicts her self-portrait with metal rods supporting her broken spine. Although Frida’s recovery was miraculous, she did have relapses of tremendous pain and fatigue all throughout her life, which cause her to be hospitalized for long periods of time, bedridden at times (106). She underwent tremendous stress during this time, but she surprised everyone with her strong will and talent.Ever since her almost fatal accident, Frida would draw portraits of herself and other subjects. Not knowing whether or not her artwork was good enough to make a lifelong career out of them, she decided to take her artwork to the famous and respected Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera. From then on, Diego and Frida continued to see each other. While entangled with Rivera, Frida gave up her artwork because of her love f...
