Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera will adorn some new Mexican money, government officials have announced.

The Bank of Mexico plans to release the new 500-peso bills (about $40 Cdn.) into general circulation on Monday.

The coffee-coloured bills will feature one of Kahlo's famed self-portraits on one side, while noted muralist Rivera is depicted on the reverse.

The new currency replaces the previous 500-peso bill featuring the face of 19th century Mexican general Ignacio Zaragoza, hero of the Battle of Puebla.

Though the Bank of Mexico has said the new bills are a tribute to the two artists, the choice has not been universally praised.

For instance, historian Alejandro Rosas Robles told Mexico's Milenio national newspaper that Nobel Prize-winning writer Octavio Paz would have been a more worthy choice because his work speaks more generally to Mexico.