Having portraits of the leader shown publicaly and even inside people's houses was a tool used by many dictators.
These porttraits tried to evoke admiration and loyalty, and for that the image of the dictator had to be that of one of a young, beauftigul and strong man. Since the common people had never really seen the leader, the portraits they were given were retouched without them knowing.
Alvarez contrasts her mother's insistence of silence with her own desire to tell stories.
