The Apotheosis of Frida and Ché: Secular Saints and Fetishized Commodities

Abstract

This article explores the contradictory positionings of two significant Latin Americans, Ché Guevara and Frida Kahlo, through reflection on their historical, ideological, and folk meanings. Frida and Ché have ceased to be historical figures as their images have become commodified as part of the rampant consumerism that typifies modern global capitalism. I argue that Ché and Frida have been transformed into secular icons, in particular by the Latin American left, owing largely to their tragic death/lives which reflect the martyrdom of Catholic saints. As pop cause célèbres , consumed by audiences that care little to understand the complexities of their ideologies, desires, and agendas, their images have been appropriated and marketed by the fashion, novelty, and cottage industries. Frida and Ché now function as fetishized commodities used as stylistic elements designed to sell a range of consumer goods, yet remain powerful icons that challenge the hegemony of globalization, patriarchy, and, in the case of Frida, heteronormativity.