Chicago's 'Frida Libre' uplifts Mexican culture

CHICAGO (CBS)-- There's a new colorful show for your little ones that's just made the stage at Northwestern University.

"Frida Libre" follows the story of a 9-year-old Frida Kahlo and her classmate Alex as they're forced to do a science project on butterflies that turns into a journey of self-discovery in Spanglish, with a full Latino cast.

For a lot of the kids who are gonna come out to see Frida Libre, a caterpillar in a jar may be one the first things they've ever seen on stage. 

Northwestern University junior, Isadora Coco Gonzalez is this season's Frida, accompanied by Alex played by senior, Matheus Barbee, as the two embark on an adventure, larger than life.   

"For most of those kids, we are their first touch with theater, which is really special, because that means that we get to show them what the stage is like," Gonzalez said. 

Alex and Frida are very much opposites," Gonzalez said. "Alex is this shy, very daydreaming boy and Frida is this loud, colorful girl who wears pigtails." 

"They go on a journey of self-discovery when they get paired to be science partners," Barbee said. 

This young Frida isn't too far off from the adult one. 

"Frida is so unabashedly herself," Gonzalez said. 

"When her life was so difficult and to bring peace to others when she might not have been experiencing that herself," Barbee said. 

"She was injured when she was younger. She was sick, so she has a limp, but she doesn't let that get to her," Gonzalez said. 

Northwestern's Imagine U aims to stage shows that both entertain and leave a lasting impact. 

"They're taking in so much, they're growing so much, they're learning so much about the world at any given moment," Barbee said. 

"And for these kids who are discovering who they are, that is such an important thing for them to see, to see someone just like them who is so unafraid to be who she is," Gonzalez said. 

Northwestern wants to make sure that their theater for young audiences actually reaches young audiences, so for the second year now, they bus them in to see the show.

"That is in every single third grader in the 65 School District here in Evanston, which means that over 800 third graders get to see this production on Fridays," Gonzalez said. 

In Frida Libre, it's not just the stage the students are being exposed to.

"The show goes back and forth from Spanish and English, and there's no explanation," Gonzalez said. "These kids, who most of them probably don't speak Spanish, they get it."

On this stage, there are no barriers. 

"Our primary goal is to learn and to grow," Barbee said. 

"We invite them to break all of the rules that society has set on what theater should be when you step into an audience," Gonzalez  said. 

Frida Libre is for kids 6 years old and older. You can catch it at the Wirtz Center for performing arts on Northwestern University's Evanston campus on weekends through November 5th.