Sergio Witz Rodríguez (born 1962 in

Campeche, Campeche San Francisco de Campeche (; yua, Ahk'ìin Pech, ), 19th c., also known simply as Campeche, is a city in Campeche Municipality in the state of Campeche, Mexico on the shore of the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico. Both the seat of the munici ...

) is a Mexican poet. His literary work has been recognized by Mexico's National Fund for Culture and Arts (FONCA), a government agency that promotes the arts and culture by funding promising talents. Witz was the winner of the 1994 Tabasco Poetry Prize. He is the author of "Como hierba ardiente," "Ciudad de paso" and "Mi odio por los barcos." The opinion has been expressed that his writing follows the tradition of the "poètes maudits" such as

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and Charles Bukowski in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 2002, he published a brief poem titled "La patria entre mierda" ("The Motherland among the Shit"), in which he expressed a desire to use the

flag of Mexico The national flag of Mexico ( es, Bandera de México) is a vertical tricolor of green, white, and red with the national coat of arms charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these thre ...

lavatory paper Toilet paper (sometimes called toilet tissue or bathroom tissue) is a tissue paper product primarily used to clean the anus and surrounding anal region of feces after defecation, and to clean the perineal area and external genitalia of urin ...

. Because of the controversy caused by this poem, the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

decided to proceed with a prosecution and filed federal charges against Witz for the crime of "insulting national symbols." An amparo relief filing he lodged with the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

was dismissed on October 5, 2005, allowing the prosecution to proceed. On May 7, 2008, a federal court in

Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...

found him guilty and, ignoring the public prosecutor's request that a custodial sentence be imposed, ordered him to pay a fine of $50 (€3.10, US$4.75).Multan a poeta por escribir versos contra la Bandera
''El Universal,'' 2008-05-07.]

References

External links

CNCA
1962 births Living people Mexican male poets Mexican male writers People from Campeche City {{mexico-writer-stub