Olivia Romo is a farmer, poet, and water rights activist from Taos, New Mexico. She comes from a multigenerational corn farming family that relies on water from one of New Mexico’s “acequias” (community-owned water ditches) to irrigate their fields. For the past three years, I’ve been documenting Cowboy Poets for an ongoing Cowboy Anthology project. Although Olivia doesn’t claim to be a working Cowboy-Girl, I was moved and inspired by her spoken word. I finally had a chance to meet Olivia in Yountville, CA, in the fall of 2019. She recited a poem dedicated to her great grandfather and wrote the poem for me. These are the photos from that day.
Olivia’s passion for the land, her culture, and water rights for the traditional people are truly inspiring.
