That is, there are no Black people in El Salvador - or that is what many Salvadoreños will tell you, because they firmly believe this to be true.”Īs the only Black person in her family, Olivo grew up struggling to understand the things she heard that negated her identity through colorism. In the forward, Olivo wrote, “El Salvador is a country devoid of Blackness. “For me, my body has never felt like it was mine,” Olivo said.” I’ve always had to change it for the sake of everybody around me for their own comfort, or for my own safety, because I didn’t want them to continue to hurt me because of what my body looks like.”Īnother prominent theme is her Afro-Salvadoran identity and its erasure by other Salvadorians. The poem ends with the lines:īut I wonder, when will it finally be mine? “Act of Contrition” examines the struggle to reclaim agency over her own body. But also in her home, both now and as a child, when frustration, tension, or anger has caused her to make herself small. “Moments where I feel small, where I have to hold back … especially those moments where the power dynamics are skewed against me.” Many of the book’s recurring themes deal with these moments - moments when Olivo has found herself having to hold back to become the whisper. The poems in this section are reflective of times when outside elements forced Olivo to get smaller and quieter. Alegría published “The Whisper, The Storm and The Light In Between.” (Photo: Clara Olivo) The Whisper Clara Olivo at Alegría Magazine’s 10-year anniversary.
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