Frias was born on October 28, 1962[1] in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[2][3] She attended the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo,[4] where she obtained a degree in geography.[2] She worked as a community activist, focusing particularly on issues affecting women and immigrants from Haiti.[4]
In 1990, Frias moved to Prato.[2] There she continued her activist work, eventually becoming an organizer with Italy's Federation of Protestant Churches.[4] She became an Italian citizen in 2004.[2]
Frias was appointed assessor of the city government of Empoli in 2004.[5] In this capacity she was responsible for a portfolio that included the environment, citizenship rights, equal opportunities, and cultural diversity in Empoli.[5]
Frias ran in the 2006 Italian general election for the Chamber of Deputies, affiliated with the Communist Refoundation Party.[1] She was elected in the April 2006 election,[5] to represent the XII District, which is a part of Tuscany.[1] Her election made her the first Black woman to be a member of the Italian parliament.[6][3] She was also a member of a historically large cohort of Protestants elected to parliament that year.[7] As a deputy she served on the parliamentary committees responsible for constitutional affairs, Schengen implementation, and immigration issues.[1]
For the 2008 Italian general election Frias joined the list La Sinistra l'Arcobaleno (the rainbow left),[8] but she was not re-elected to the parliament.[1]
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