Hijas del Olvido by Roberto Palomo is a deeply moving photobook about memory, loss, and the enduring strength of love. Through photographs and personal storytelling, Palomo recounts the life-long struggle of his grandmother, Silvestra, who was only three years old when her father was executed during the Francoist repression and thrown into a mass grave in Badajoz. At the time, her mother was pregnant with her younger sister. In a single violent act, a family was broken, and a child was left to grow up with absence as her inheritance.
For 87 years, that absence defined her life. The remains of her father lay buried more than 30 meters deep in a mass grave. When they were finally exhumed, the act carried profound symbolic weight. It was not only about recovering bones; it was about restoring identity, dignity, and the right to mourn. After nearly nine decades, Silvestra was finally able to bury her father properly.
Palomo’s work moves beyond documentation. His photographs hold silence, tenderness, and quiet resilience. The book becomes an intimate meditation on inherited trauma and the power of remembrance. It honors the women who carried memory forward when history tried to erase it.
Hijas del Olvido is ultimately about reclaiming what was taken — not only a body from the earth, but a name from oblivion. It is a testament to how photography can serve as both witness and healing.