Luis Palés Matos (March 20, 1898 – February 23, 1959) was a Puerto Rican
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
who is credited with creating the poetry genre known as Afro-Antillano. He is also credited with writing the screenplay for the "Romance Tropical", the first Puerto Rican film with sound.
Early years
Palés Matos was born in
Guayama, Puerto Rico
Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
into a family of well-known poets. His mother was also a poet
as was his father Vicente Palés Anés, who has a school named after him in
Guayama
Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...
.
His siblings include Vicente, Gustavo, Consuelo and Josefa. His family was instrumental in his poetic development and is reflected when at the age of 17 he wrote and published his first book of poetry titled "Azaleas" (1915). In high school he edited the school's monthly publication "Mehr Licht". His family's financial situation was bad and he was forced to drop out of high school and earn a living working in various jobs.
Diepalismo movement
In 1918, he moved to the town of Fajardo
Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico.
Fajardo is the hub of mu ...
where he worked for El Pueblo, the town's local newspaper. There he met a young lady by the name of Natividad Suliveres and soon married her. Natividad gave birth to a baby boy, but within a year his wife died of tuberculosis. Palés Matos was devastated and expressed his grief in the poem "El palacio en sombras" (The palace in shadows). He moved to San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to:
* San Juan, Puerto Rico
* San Juan, Argentina
* San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines
San Juan may also refer to:
Places Arge ...
and worked for the daily newspapers, El Mundo and El Imparcial. In San Juan he met and befriended José I. de Diego Padró, a fellow poet and together they created a literary movement known as "Diepalismo", a name derived from the combination of their surnames.[
]
Afro-Antillano poems
In 1926, a local newspaper ''La Democracia'' published "Pueblo negro" (Black town), the first known Afro-Antillano poem. This marked the start of a new genre in Latin American literature
Latin American literature consists of the oral and written literature of Latin America in several languages, particularly in Spanish, Portuguese, and the indigenous languages of Latin America. Latin American literature rose to particular pro ...
which blended words from the Afro-Caribbean culture into the Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
verse of Puerto Rico. These poems were immediately and criticized by white, mainstream Puerto Rican intellectuals who viewed black issues as not being noteworthy or appropriate topics for high literature.
In 1934, Palés Matos wrote the screenplay for ''Romance Tropical'', the first Puerto Rican movie with sound and the second Spanish movie with sound in the world. The movie, which was produced and directed by Juan Emilio Viguié, dealt with the romance between a poor boy and a rich girl. ''Romance Tropical'', which was distributed in theaters throughout Puerto Rico and New York by Pedro Juanera, was an astounding success. The film promised to give the Puerto Rican film industry international recognition, however the development of the industry was affected when a dispute over the copyrights between the Canino family (investors) and Viguié became public knowledge.[Historia del Cine en Puerto Rico](_blank)
/ref>[Biographies](_blank)
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In 1937, Palés Matos published ''Tuntún de pasa y grifería'' (Drumbeats of Kinkiness and Blackness). This collection of poems received an award of recognition from the Puerto Rican Institute of Literature. Palés Matos gained fame with his literary work. Though Palés Matos is considered, together with the Afro-Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén
Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista (10 July 1902 – 16 July 1989) was a Cuban poet, journalist and political activist. He is best remembered as the national poet of Cuba. , the father of the "Negrismo" movement, he was also criticized by members of the black Puerto Rican community, who considered it an insult to their race that Palés Matos, a light-skinned man, was becoming famous on their account.[ Nevertheless, black Puerto Rican performers such as Sylvia del Villard and Juan Boria recited Palés Matos's poetry.]
Other figures of Afro-Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean poetry include Abelardo Díaz Alfaro
Abelardo Díaz Alfaro (July 24, 1916 – July 22, 1999) was an author from Puerto Rico who achieved great fame throughout Latin America during the 1940s. His book ''Campo Alegre'' is a text that has been studied at schools in Austria, Austral ...
(1916–1999) who also wrote Afro-Antillano lyrics and Angelamaria Davila (1944-2003) who wrote Afro-feminist poetry in the 1970s.
Works
Some of Palés Matos' works are:
* (The Palace in Shadows)
* Pueblo negro (Black Town)
* Danza negra (Black Dance)
* Canción festiva para ser llorada (A festival song to cry for)
* Falsa canción de baquiné (False Song of a funeral for a child)
* Largarto verde (Green Lizard)
* Plena
Plena is a genre of music and dance native to Puerto Rico.
Origins
The plena genre originated in Barrio San Antón, Ponce, Puerto Rico, around 1900. It was influenced by the bomba style of music. Originally, sung texts were not associated wit ...
del Menéalo
* Tuntún de pasa y grifería (Drumbeats of kinkiness and blackness)
* Majestad negra (Black Majesty)
Later years
In 1957, his written work, "Poesías" was acclaimed by the Academy of the Spanish language. Palés Matos was selected by the faculty of the University of Puerto Rico as their conference representative. Palés Matos died of heart failure in San Juan on February 23, 1959. He was buried at the Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in Carolina, Puerto Rico
Carolina (; ) is a Carolina barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico, immediately east of San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan and Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Trujillo Alto, n ...
.
Legacy
in Guayama is a residence museum dedicated to the memory of the poet.
There is a public school in Puerto Rico named after Palés Matos, in the town of Bayamón and a public housing complex in Guayama.
The school of Humanities of the University of Puerto Rico
The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...
has a building named after him.
The Spanglish
Spanglish (a blend of the words "Spanish" and "English") is any language variety (such as a contact dialect, hybrid language, pidgin, or creole language) that results from conversationally combining Spanish and English. The term is mostly u ...
comic novel " Yo-Yo Boing!" by Nuyorican
Nuyorican is a portmanteau word blending "New York" (or "Nueva York" in Spanish) and "Puerto Rican," referring to Puerto Ricans located in or around New York City, their culture, or their descendants (especially those raised or currently livin ...
poet Giannina Braschi
Giannina Braschi (born February 5, 1953) is a Puerto Rican poet, novelist, dramatist, and scholar. Her notable works include '' Empire of Dreams'' (1988), '' Yo-Yo Boing!'' (1998), '' United States of Banana'' (2011), and '' Putinoika'' (2024). ...
pays tribute to the Afro-Antillano poems of Palés Matos and the lyric poetry
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, t ...
of Julia de Burgos
Julia Constanza Burgos García (February 17, 1914 – July 6, 1953), known as Julia de Burgos, was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican poet, journalist, Independence movement in Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican independence advocate, and teacher. As an advo ...
who are both the subject of a debate among several characters in the novel.
Singer/songwriter Roy Brown formed a group in the late 70s called Aires Bucaneros, which is the title of one of Palés Matos poems. The group released an eponymous album in 1979, featuring a song based on the poem. After that, Brown has written several songs based on Palés Matos poems.Canciones de Luis Palés Matos
on Cancioneros
See also
* List of Puerto Rican writers
This is a list of Puerto Rican literary figures, including poets, novelists, short story authors, and playwrights. It includes people who were born in Puerto Rico, people who are of Puerto Rican ancestry, and long-term residents or immigrants w ...
*List of Puerto Ricans
This is a list of notable people from Puerto Rico which includes people who were born in Puerto Rico (Borinquen) and people who are of full or partial Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican descent. Puerto Rican citizens are included, as the governm ...
* Puerto Rican literature
Puerto Rican literature is the body of literature produced by writers of Puerto Rican descent. It evolved from the art of Oral literature, oral storytelling. Written works by the indigenous inhabitants of Puerto Rico were originally prohibited ...
References
External links
Luis Palés Matos works on website
"Luis Palés Matos: Poeta" ''Estudiantes Al Dia'' 2001
brief biography in Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
;
Julió, Edgardo Rodróguez (19 April 1998) "Utopia y Nostalgia en Palés Matos" ''La Jornada Semanal'' Universidad de México
an analysis of Luis Palés Matos' works in Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
;
"DVD Palés y la Rumba de Esquina (BPPR 2009)"
Part of a collection in which this year's DVD is a tribute to Luis Palés Matos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pales Matos, Luis
1898 births
1959 deaths
20th-century Puerto Rican poets
20th-century American poets
20th-century American male writers
People from Guayama, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rican male writers