This one the most hauntingly beautiful and most original soundtracks I have ever heard! Just listen to the incredible songs such as the authenicity and raw anger in Paloma Negra (by Chavela Vargas: Unparalleled!) or the freshness of La Bruja (Salma Hayek: What a surprise!) or the tension of Alcoba Azul (by Lila Downs), which are in stark in contrast to the exotic but fitting award winning score by Goldenthal.

It helps to see the movie, but also without it, this soundtrack is one out of thousand.

Lets all face it, big Frida fans like myself thought the movie was pretty shallow, that Selma Hayek was miscast, bared no physical resemblance and indeed, was too agile to convince us that this is a woman who really sufferd. An unknown Mexican actress would have had a greater effect one feels.But all that doesn't matter as the glorious soundtrack can be enjoyed as an entirely seperate entity. From folksongs to tangos and beautiful instrumentals using traditional instruments(gave me goosebumps). If you dont speak Spanish, there's no need to fret, as the translation is posted next to each song. About the translation itself, well...I grew up in Spain, went through the Spanish education system etc. I'm pretty fluent. Fluent enough to cringe at the the glaring errors in almost every line, there's also a verse missing from La Bruja and a couple of lines missing from Estrella Oscura. Also negro llorona is probably referring so a sorowfull widow, as in she is always dressed in black and cries all the time(una llorona). There was a girl in my class who cried all the time and was therefor dubbed la llorona(the cry-baby) for the rest of the year.I suggest you buy this soundtrack together with Frida: The Biography, which again has Selma's stupid face on the front. Fear not, it has nothing to do with the movie and was released years earlier. I personally am saving up my pennies to visit the Tate Modern in London, who are holding an exibition of her works until October.
Enjoy the soundtrack muchachos!

Just as "The Harder they Come" and "The Big Easy" presented Reggae and Zydeco to wider audiences, the soundtrack for the movie "Frida" is a wonderful introduction to the varied and vital world of contemporary Mexican folk music.