Lilliam Armijo

Lilliam Armijo (San Salvador (El Salvador), March 27, 1984) is a Salvadoran poet and writer. She is the granddaughter of the poet Roberto Armijo.

Early life and education Lilliam Mercedes Armijo Martínez lived her childhood in Managua, Nicaragua, and in various Latin American countries due to the civil war in El Salvador, before moving back (to El Salvador) in 1992.

She studied her primary and secondary school at Colegio Externado de San José. She completed her University studies in International Relations in Costa Rica.

In 2007, she won the Miguel de Cervantes scholarship to study her Master's in Economic and Political Relations of Europe and Latin America in Madrid, Spain, at the Alcalá de Henares University and the Ortega y Gasset Institute.

She won a scholarship to work in Southeast Asia where she briefly worked for the United Nations and studied fashion design graduating with honors.

She currently resides in Vienna, Austria, where she is dedicated to writing children's stories and poetry.

In 2019, she won the National Floral Games with her poetry book "On the edge of the day". In 2020 she won the Floral Games for the second time in the field of poetry with her book "White Autumn".

In 2021, her children's story "Galazio and the Colored Comet" was selected to be part of the children's reading anthology Crecer Leyendo, part of the "Tree of Life" collection, translated into Braille and Salvadoran Sign Language (LESSA). Around 250,000 free books were produced for public and private schools in El Salvador. Armijo received, along with other authors and illustrators, recognition for her work in early childhood, from the first lady Gabriela de Bukele, the Minister of Education Carla Hananía de Varela, and the Vice Minister of Culture Mariemm Pleitez.

Armijo is internationally recognized and has made several international artistic collaborations. Moreover, in 2022, she translated into Spanish Timeless Stories of El Salvador, Volume 1.

According to Disruptive Magazine "30 years after the signing of the Peace Accords, today's youth continues to write poetry (like Vladimir Amaya, Lilliam Armijo, Lourdes Ferrufino, among others)."

Critical Reception and Features Armijo's poetry has received critical attention in newspapers and other cultural publications, while also being featured extensively in university and literary magazines. These articles, reviews, and critical essays have examined her poetic work, its recurring themes, and her broader contribution to contemporary literature.

Selected examples of this critical reception include:

Publication in Salvadoran newspaper Diario El Salvador: “Salvadoreña recita poesía en Austria” . The article reports on Armijo’s participation in the poetry recital in Austria named Jardín de las Musas, where she was invited by Instituto Cervantes to present and recite her work, highlighting the international presence of Salvadoran literature and poetry. Publication in Salvadoran newspaper Diario El Salvador: "El Salvador lleva poesía inédita al Día del Idioma Español en Viena" . The article reports on Armijo’s contribution of previously unpublished poetry to El Salvador’s diplomatic participation, presenting her work as part of El Salvador’s literary and cultural representation in Austria during the commemoration of Spanish Language Day.

Selected examples of Armijo's features include:

Feature in Revista USAC, published by Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala : Armijo was featured in Issue No. 52 of the university’s cultural and literary magazine, published in 2022. The issue includes poetry by Armijo in its literary section, alongside works by other Latin American and international writers. Feature in Revista Altazor: Armijo was featured in the magazine with a selection of her poetry, contributing to the publication’s coverage of contemporary Latin American literary voices. Feature in Revista Ajk’oki : Armijo was featured in the magazine’s poetry section, which presents a selection of her poetic work and introduces her writing to the publication’s literary readership. Feature in the anthology Centroamérica 1980–2021, “Escaleras abajo” (Ediciones Perro Azul, Costa Rica, 2022) : Armijo’s poetry was included in the anthology, which brings together poetic works from Central American authors spanning the period from 1980 to 2021.

Collaborations Selected examples of Armijo's collaborations include:

MEMORIAL PARA LAS REFLEXIONES FILOSÓFICAS: "El Muro Intangible" (2019).