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On Frida Kahlo's Birthday, Google Is Showing A Picture Of… Someone Else?

Andrea González-Ramírez
Last Updated July 6, 2017, 7:00 PM
Photo: Getty Images.
Mexican painter Frida Kahlo
Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images.
Rebecca Minkoff dressed as Frida Kahlo
Thursday marks the 110th birthday of the iconic Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón on July 6, 1907, the artist is considered one of the most significant artistic figures of the 20th century.
Her painting style, particularly in her self-portraits, and her distinctive look has been the subject of fascination all around the world for decades. And for women who admire her, she represents an empowering figure. But when you search for "Frida Kahlo birthday" on Google today, what comes up is a picture of... Rebecca Minkoff?
Instead of showing one of the many images of Kahlo, Google pulls up a picture of the designer next to Kahlo's date of birth. The photo is from 2010, when Minkoff attended Heidi Klum's Halloween bash in New York City.
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The mixup was first spotted by Chicano cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz, who posted a screenshot on Twitter. (Refinery29 did its own search and confirmed the mistake.)
When you search for other prominent figures who serve as inspiration for costumes during the trick-or-treat season, Google showed the correct pictures of everyone. There was no mixup with the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Jackie Kennedy, Salvador Dali, or Audrey Hepburn.
That Kahlo is such an emblematic figure makes this blunder quite frustrating.
Female artists — and female artists of color in particular — are so often relegated to second-class status. If this happens with Kahlo, who most people probably know of, what would happen with a female artist considered more "obscure"?
It's unclear what caused the search engine to pull up the wrong image. Refinery29 has reached out to Google and will update this story when we hear back.
In the meantime, we would like to celebrate Frida Kahlo's life and legacy by showing the tributes other social media users have posted.
Feliz cumpleaños, guapa.
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