Frida Kahlo was once asked to portray certain icons in a mural...she referred to them in a letter as cockroaches. In a letter to a friend she stated that perhaps there were better artists to recognized and elevated, little did she know the same fortune (or misfortune) would be placed on her. 

While her image is constantly used to sell commercial products, what should be practiced in her life: the exploration of her identity, honesty, and boldness is what gravitates to an icon people flock to. Those qualities embedded in her nature and in her art have inspired people--decades later-- to celebrate their own identities, to celebrate their nationality, to harness their boldness to fight injustice and to have used her art to elevate their own.