Luis Palés Matos

Palés Matos was born in Guayama, Puerto Rico into a family of well-known poets which included both his parents, Vicente Palés Anés and Consuelo Matos Vicil and his brothers and sisters, 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", a collection of his poems. In high school he became the editor of 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.[1][2]

Luis Palés Matos Bust in Guayama, Puerto Rico

In 1918, he moved to the town of Fajardo 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.[3] Palés Matos was devastated and expressed his grief in the poem "El palacio en sombras" (The palace in shadows). He moved to San Juan and worked for the daily newspapers, El Mundo[2] and El Imparcial. In San Juan he met and befriended José T. 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.[1]

In 1926, a local newspaper La Democracia published "Pueblo negro" (Black village), the first known Afro-Antillano poem.[1] This marked the start of a new genre in Latin American literature which blended words from the Afro-Caribbean culture into the Spanish verse of Puerto Rico. These poems were immediately and vitriolically criticized by white, mainstream Puerto Rican intellectuals who viewed black issues as not being noteworthy or appropriate topics for high literature.[4]

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.[5][6]

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.[7] Palés Matos gained fame with his literary work but, the experience was bittersweet. Though Palés Matos is considered, together with the Afro-Cuban poet Nicolás Guillén, 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 white (light-skinned) man, was becoming famous on their account.[1] Nevertheless, black Puerto Rican performers such as Sylvia del Villard and Juan Boria recited Palés Matos's poetry.[8]

Some of Palés Matos' works are:

• El palacio en sombras (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)
• Tuntún de pasa y grifería (Drumbeats of kinkiness and blackness)
• Majestad negra (Black Majesty)

In 1957, his written work, "Poesías" was acclaimed by the Academy of the Spanish language.[2] 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.[1][2]

Casa Luis Palés Matos in Guayama is a residence museum dedicated to the memory of the poet.[9]

There is a public school in Puerto Rico named after Palés Matos, in the town of Bayamón[10] and a public housing complex in Guayama.[11]

The school of Humanities of the University of Puerto Rico has a building named after him. [12]

The Spanglish comic novel "Yo-Yo Boing!" by Nuyorican poet Giannina Braschi pays tribute to the Afro-Antillano poems of Luis Palés Matos who is the subject of debate among several characters in the novel.[13]

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.[14]

• List of Puerto Rican writers
• List of Puerto Ricans
• Puerto Rican literature

• "Luis Palés Matos: Poeta" Estudiantes Al Dia 2001, brief biography in Spanish;
• 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;
• "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;