Mott Haven singer discovers
inspiration in life’s hardships
BY KYLE VUILLE
Mott Haven soul artist Lio
O’liva plays the hand he was
given and only cares to spread
his positive message through
his music to others.
O’liva was born in a small
village in Honduras 24 years
ago with a rare condition
called Fibular Hemimelia.
“We had nothing and this
surgeon from the West Coast
drove miles and miles to see
me and my mother,” O’liva
said. “He said, ‘I’ll be back in
three months,’ my mother had
no reason to believe him.”
However, the Californian
doctor did come back and
brought O’liva and his mother
to the golden coast.
O’liva had several operations
done, involving double
leg amputations, but in the following
years, the disability
would never stop O’liva’s will
to prosper and overcome.
Naturally, throughout his
life, he was constantly asking
himself, ‘why did this happen
to me?’ and faced existential
dilemmas.
He said he found solace as
a child by watching movies,
in particular, ‘Batman,’ and
found Bruce Wayne’s loss and
struggle much like his own
and like Batman, O’liva made
a vow to himself to be the best
person he could be.
At the age of 4, O’liva and
his mother joined his father
in New York, who was already
a Mott Haven transplant.
His parents separated when
he reached the age of 13, leaving
O’liva, his siblings and
mother to fend for themselves.
He said a lot of his strength
and resilience comes from his
mother.
As a teenager, O’liva attended
the Celia Cruz Bronx
High School of Music where
he found his love for music
and learned to play the piano,
trumpet and guitar.
O’liva said his time at the
music school saved him from
the trouble that consumed the
neighborhood around him.
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He said before he jumped
into creating music of his,
he immersed himself into
classics like Stevie Wonder,
D’Angelo and Lauryn Hill.
Now armed with the knowledge
and the ear for music he
was looking to create, O’liva
and his friends built a makeshift
studio and started recording.
Songs from the album
can be heard on Soundcloud
https://m.soundcloud.com/
lio-oliva with corresponding
music videos on Lio O’liva’s
Youtube channel.
O’liva started working on
his album, Prosthetic Soul,
in 2008, realizing he wanted
to chase his dream instead
of feeling regret later down
the road for not doing what
he truly loves and keeps him
afl oat.
Working with his producer
Jeffrey Resto Jr., O’liva recorded
the album in the Millbrook
Projects and since has
released several visuals on
Youtube in the past year.
Lio O’liva poses for a photo. O’liva, double leg amputee, maintains a
positive, mindful attitude towards life and wants to spread his message
through his upcoming album, Prosthetic Soul.
Photo courtesy of Lio O’liva
The offi cial album release
should be in the fi rst week of
March.
“I put a lot into it,” O’liva
said. “I couldn’t have made
this without the love of my
mother, my friends, my producer.”
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