LGBT literature in El Salvador consists of literary works written by Salvadorean authors that involve plots, themes or characters that are part of or related to sexual diversity. Until the 21st century, El Salvador did not have its own tradition of LGBT literature,[1] although there were some representations of themes related to sexual diversity in previous years. One of the oldest was the verse story "La corrección de menores", published in 1923 by humorist Francisco Herrera Velado, which tells the story of a boy who is raised as a woman and lives in constant transition between the two genders.[2] A similar character later appeared in the novel ¡Justicia, señor gobernador! (1960), by Hugo Lindo.[3]
In 2004 the collection of poems Injurias y otros poemas was published, by writer Ricardo Lindo Fuentes, and it is traditionally considered the first Salvadoran work with openly homoerotic themes.[4][5] The publication of Injurias y otros poemas opened the door for several other LGBT works in subsequent years, including novels such as Ángeles caídos (2005), by Carlos Alberto Soriano,[1] and Heterocity (2011), by Mauricio Orellana Suárez.[6] The latter, in particular, was well received critically and was awarded the Mario Monteforte Toledo Central American Novel Prize.[6] Other authors of LGBT works of notoriety include the storyteller Jacinta Escudos and poets such as Alberto López Serrano, Silvia Matus, Kenny Rodríguez and Marielos Olivos.[7][8][9]
As for transgender literature, since the 1990s literary works with trans representation have become more common, although they have almost always been accompanied by tragic denouements, with death as the usual ending for these characters. This trend has continued up to the present day, with works including the novel El verbo J (2018), by Claudia Hernández, where an immigrant transgender woman experiences conditions of exclusion and violence for most of her life.[10]