José Luis Montalvo (September 9, 1946 – August 15, 1994) was a

Chicano Chicano (masculine form) or Chicana (feminine form) is an ethnic identity for Mexican Americans that emerged from the Chicano Movement. In the 1960s, ''Chicano'' was widely reclaimed among Hispanics in the building of a movement toward politic ...

writer, poet, and community activist.

Biography

Early life

José Luis Montalvo was born on September 9, 1946, in

Piedras Negras, Coahuila Piedras Negras ( ) is a city and seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Coahuila. It stands at the northeastern edge of Coahuila on the Mexico–United States border, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass ...

, México.Emmanuel Sampath Nelson, ''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Multiethnic American Literature: I - M'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005, pp. 1514-1515 He moved to

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

in 1959. He graduated from Fox Tech High School in 1966. He then joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

, where he was stationed in

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In 1969, he was transferred to

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, Webb County, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villag ...

, where he was reborn a

and began to get involved in political and community issues. He was honorably discharged from his military duties in 1971. He returned to San Antonio, where he attended San Antonio College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary's University in 1974.

Career

He ran for State Representative in 1974, under the

Raza Unida Party Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida (LRUP; National United Peoples PartyArmando Navarro (2000) ''La Raza Unida Party'', p. 20 or United Race Party) was a Hispanic political party centered on Chicano (Mexican-American) nationalism. It was created in ...

. He authored several books of poetry including ''Pensamientos Capturados'' (1977), ''¡A MI QUE!'' (1983), ''Black Hat Poems'' ( Slough Press 1987), and ''Welcome to My New World'' ( Slough Press 1992).Jose Luis Montalvo; Poet, 47
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', August 19, 1994University of Texas at Austin: José Montalvo, Chicano Poet
/ref> He has been described as the People's Poet, performing anywhere from his favorite local bars to universities around the country. Best known for his satirical take on the Texas Sesquicentennial, "What the Sasquash-centennial Means To Me!" (1986). His editor at ViAztlan was Rafael C. Castillo, a prominent writer and mentor to many Chicano writers. Jose at first balked at the massive editorial changes to his poem, but later acquiesced to them after Castillo explained the scope and focus of the poetic changes. The poem led to loss of city grant funding for the Chicano Arts journal, " ViAztlan". During the 1980s, he became known to the Chicano world as The Black Hat Poet, the bearded Resistol cowboy hat-wearing, beer-drinking poet who wore starched blue jeans and a lizard earring, not the mental picture of what comes to mind when one thinks of a Chicano. Audiences especially enjoyed the humor in his writing and performances.

Death

He was diagnosed with

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

in July 1990 and battled his disease for three years. In addition to receiving traditional medical treatment, he pursued his own alternative treatment regimen consisting of vitamins, herbs, and a vegetarian diet. He died August 15, 1994, at the age of forty-seven.

Bibliography

*''Pensamientos Capturados'' (1971) *''¡A MI QUE!'' (1983) *''Black Hat Poems''(1987) *''Welcome to My New World'' (1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montalvo, Jose 1946 births 1994 deaths People from Piedras Negras, Coahuila Writers from San Antonio Mexican emigrants to the United States United States Air Force airmen St. Mary's University, Texas alumni Mexican male poets Mexican male writers Writers from Coahuila 20th-century American poets American male poets 20th-century American male writers 20th-century Mexican male writers 20th-century Mexican poets