by Grace Jarman
In spring, as the air turns to the heat of a Houston summer, the streets are filled with vibrant colors, magnificent outfits, and, most importantly, unibrows. The Frida Kahlo festival, held annually since 2005, is a cornerstone of Houston’s Latino community and celebrates one of Mexico’s most widely renowned artists. Lizbeth Ortiz, organizer and founder of the festival, was born in Mexico City and moved to Houston when she was two years old. She explained, “My paternal grandfather had been a migrant worker, and my dad had been coming to the States early on. So … my dad knew that he wanted his family to … settle here and have his family here.” Ortiz’s story is one of finding community, fostering empowerment through artistic expression, and discovering her passions while carrying on the East End’s legacy of highly recognized activists and artists.
The twentieth century brought an influx of Hispanic immigrants to the East End, and with them came social and political change that inspired artists and activists who expanded Houston’s cultural landscape. In 1910, only fifty people in Second Ward were Mexican-born and roughly 2,000 Houstonians were Mexican American. In 2023, Hispanics made up 69.8 percent of the overall East End population, showing the vast community Mexican American and Latino immigrants have found in this area of Houston.
Lizbeth Ortiz and her work with the Frida Festival were made possible by those who came before her and created a space where Mexican cultural pride could be shared with the world. By age five, she aspired to be a fashion designer and went on to attend Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (now Kinder HSPVA). Houston’s East End offered Ortiz a place to discover her artistic abilities and to take pride in her heritage. “I didn’t discover the East End until I was in high school because some classmates … lived there,” she recalled. “I felt like I was in Mexico in a way, but here in Houston.”
Ortiz faced her share of struggles as she cultivated her artistic expression and found her way in the art world. Her journey as an artist began in New York City in 1994. She applied to Pratt Institute, got accepted into their fashion design school, arranged her housing, and then informed her parents of her plans. She attributed her independent nature to her personal experience, reflecting, “[As a first-generation immigrant] you have a different mentality. [It’s] like, ‘I need to do better and strive.’ My family sacrifices are worth something, not in vain.” Her parents, who knew Ortiz wanted to pursue a creative career, worked hard to pay the bills while she aimed to make a name for herself beyond Houston.
Ortiz recalled the culture shock of a pedestrian-heavy city like New York compared to the car-dependent streets of Houston, and she began to rethink her mentality in this new place. The diverse life experiences of the people she encountered in New York inspired her, especially as she began meeting more people from different parts of Mexico. Meeting so many people from such varying backgrounds caused Ortiz to ask herself, “What do I bring to the table? What are my roots? And … who am I?” She turned to her Mexican roots, finding inspiration in the houses, sculptures, bright colors, and culture she had experienced before going to New York. These roots influenced some of her most fulfilling art pieces.
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Click here to check out Lizbeth Ortiz’s website!
Click above to watch a video by KHOU 11 about Lizbeth Ortiz!
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