In 1954 Frida Kahlo´s death hit Diego Rivera, physically and emotionally. One year later, he was diagnosed with cancer, and he focused the next two years (1956-1957) in creating five murals in a place which now seems like an omen, “La Casa de los Vientos” (The house of winds – Exekatlkalli) in Acapulco, Diego Rivera´s Acapulco. He died on November 24th, 1957, in Mexico City. Diego Rivera lived his last two years in Acapulco, at an establishment built in 1943 and acquired by Dolores Olmedo in 1948 at Las Playas neighborhood, Acapulco. There, he created four murals, two of them in its ceiling, one at its terrace, and two more on its façade
The last art pieces of Rivera were created at this house, among them a series of sunsets (25 sunsets). One of the ceiling murals represented Dolores Olmedo as a mermaid surrounded by four stars. There is also a “sapo-rana” (toad-frog), that represents Diego Rivera, offering its heart.
The two murals on La Casa de los Vientos facade, are divided by the main entrance to the place. The first one is 42 feet long and the second one is 66 feet long, one of them with Quetzalcóatl´s image (the feathered serpent) and the other one with Ehécatl´s image (the God of Winds).
This week Acapulco was hit by Otis, a category 5 hurricane with 270 km/hr winds. This is a tragedy that hits Mexico´s memories and Mexico´s heart.
As Diego Rivera, millions of Mexicans, and people from all around the world have sweet memories of Acapulco, memories of our childhood, our youth and adulthood. Ehécatl, the God of Winds, present at Diego Rivera´s Acapulco, Exekatlkalli.