Museums as Biography

Here are four other offbeat Mexico City museums.

· Museo Frida Kahlo (Calle Londres 247, Coyoacan, 011-52-55-5554-5999). Set in the house on a quiet residential street where the enigmatic Kahlo was born, this museum strongly evokes her spirit. The so-called Blue House includes paintings by Kahlo, crafts and works by other artists from her private collection, and well-preserved rooms where she and husband Diego Rivera lived off and on. Admission about $3.

· Museo Casa del Poeta Ramón López Velarde (Álvaro Obregón 73, Col. Roma, 011-52-55-5533-5456). The former home of Velarde, this building was restored after the poet's death in 1921 to fully capture his spirit. Many features, down to the bedroom closet, are maintained just as Velarde left them. Admission 50 cents.

· Museo José Luis Cuevas (Calle Academia 13, Zocalo, 011-52-55-5522-0156). This museum, housed in a restored 16th-century convent, showcases the works of Cuevas -- best known as a master draftsman and printmaker -- and other noted painters, including Pablo Picasso. Admission $1 (free on Sundays).

· Museo Leon Trotsky (Viena 45, Coyoacan, 011-52-55-5554-0687). This building, where the exiled Soviet political leader lived and was assassinated in 1940, has an appropriately eerie air about it. Kept much as it was during Trotsky's life, it includes a collection of black-and-white photographs of him with artists Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and others. Admission $1.

-- Gary Lee