Paola Manjón de Olañeta: "Don't be afraid to tell your child that he is adopted, he will still be your child."

BarcelonaThe first time Paola Manjón de Olañeta played with a basketball was with her mother, who bought it for her to keep her entertained. Born in Santo Domingo in 1998, she was adopted when she was 2 years old and has always lived in Catalonia since then. She accumulates medals and awards of all kinds on the wall of her room in the Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona. Winner of the gold medal at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, her story of overcoming has led her to star in the documentary Beyond sport already received the Female Athlete Award from Barcelona City Council. She meets us a few days after participating in a round table at the Macaya Palace of the La Caixa Foundation to talk about her experience as a member of a team made up of people with borderline intelligence or mild intellectual disability.

A few months ago, in an article in the ARA, you admitted that basketball had been your salvation against harassment and racism.

— As a person with a mild intellectual disability, I have had a difficult time. Especially with the changes from special education school to regular school. With basketball, I had a place to hold on to, let off steam and play a sport that I like.

Did you notice much difference between the special education school and the regular school?

— Yes and no. On the one hand, the regular school class had few students, just like where I came from. But on the other hand, it seemed like you always had to outdo yourself, that you had to outdo the others... It was a bit of a strange environment.

Your relationship with your colleagues was not particularly good...

— Not much. But, if you look at it closely, there is a line where you can tolerate it. It was a mid-level degree in floristry that normally takes two years to complete, and I did it in three.

Do you think that throughout your career, both professionally and at school, you have encountered people who have caused you more problems than you really had?

— Maybe so, but I don't think anyone has ever done it in bad faith.

You currently work as a Parks and Gardens operator at Barcelona City Council. How did you get started?

— Two years ago. Before that I worked in a sports shop in a shopping centre, in a flower shop and at Casa Batlló. While I was in the shop and at Casa Batlló, I studied for the exams. I hardly slept! [laughs] And my exam was the easy part.

And you passed!

— Exactly. And now I have a permanent position at Parcs i Jardins.

I imagine that with a good schedule to make it compatible with basketball, right?

— Of course! In winter I leave work at 3pm and in summer earlier, because we start earlier. All schedules allow me to have the afternoons free.

In the documentary Beyond Sport, from Movistar+, You say that when you were little, at school, you had to pretend to be happy. Have you been able to stop doing that over the years?

— I think she did it because she was insecure, because she was having a bad time and she didn't want to worry her family. What you keep telling someone when they ask you: "Yes, everything is fine...", even though in reality you are not so fine. It's not that happiness can be faked, but that you are just getting by.

What reasons led you to that situation?

— In the documentary, the sentence was somewhat cut off, but I was referring mainly to specific situations related to comments about my skin colour, for example. I didn't mean that I was unhappy in general, but that at certain times I didn't want to worry my mother or father.

Do you think our society still has many prejudices?

— Well, it depends a lot on the person you have in front of you. I remember an anecdote that happened to me when I was working in a sports shop. A man wanted to be served in Catalan and, of course, since I'm black, he assumed that I didn't speak Catalan. But I'm from here!

You were born in Santo Domingo and when you were two, your parents adopted you and you came to live in Catalonia. Have you ever wondered about your origins? Or were you a little afraid to ask?

— Yes, of course. I have done my homework. When I was little, I remember looking in the mirror and not being able to tell that I had my father's nose or my mother's hair. That's what everyone usually does with newborn babies... And, of course, I didn't have that. I have always had the support of my mother and father. When I was 18, my mother gave me a trip with her and her girlfriend to Santo Domingo. For me it was the most spectacular trip of my life, because it wasn't the typical tourist trip, but we went to the orphanage and I was with the nuns who looked after me.

Were they the same?

— Yes, although the orphanage where they left me was not exactly the same. For my mother it was more shocking, because I had no memories. But it was also very interesting to see the culture of Santo Domingo. I was surprised to see white families with a black maid watching the child while he was swimming in the pool, even though they are forbidden to enter... I was afraid to go.

In 2023, you won the gold medal with the Spanish team at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. Where do you keep it?

— With the rest of the medals in the room. From 2009, when I remember I won the first one, until now. The professionals have them in display cases, but I am more precarious and I have them on a bar that they mounted on a wall for me.

Do you have any more that you would like to add?

— Phew! Well, the Special Olympics will be in Santiago de Chile, and then there is already talk of the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.

You were the first woman to join the ACIDH-Luïsos men's team, which is made up of people with borderline intelligence or mild intellectual disabilities. Do you notice much of a difference compared to playing for the Spanish women's team of the Specials?

— Yes... The girls play with a size six ball and it's too small for me. I have one hand for the men's ball. I was the first, but now there are two girls on the team.

Why did you choose the men's team?

— I started in the women's team, but I'm very hyperactive, very active, and I liked the intensity of the team. The speed, the muscle...

How was the reception from your colleagues?

— I played with a trick, because I knew half the team. I got in thanks to three or four teammates to whom I told that I liked intensity more, and since they needed people they invited me in.

You recently won the Sportswoman Award at the 17th edition of the Women and Sport Award. You are the first woman with a disability to receive it.

— I would like to think that there will be more. Most people who compete in categories for people with disabilities face more physical constraints than I do, and I don't consider myself a role model for anything.

A gold medal, an award for being a sportswoman, a job you love… What dream do you still have left to fulfil?

— Honestly, I would like to play in a professional team, but I know that won't happen. With my feet firmly on the ground, something I would like to do is help children and young people both in the field of sport and with the insecurities they may have in life regarding adoption, for example.

What advice would you like to give them?

— It would not be a message for children, but for all adoptive parents: do not be afraid to tell your child that he or she is adopted, he or she will still be your child. I remember that when I was little, people would ask me if I had ever met a "real mom or dad." I would tell them that it was clear, that I had lived in it all my life. For children to have this answer, I think that parents must take the first step and explain things to them patiently and little by little. Your parents have made a very long journey just to come and find you. I think that there is no greater display of love than this.