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The City of San Antonio ended the three-year appointment of Nephtalí De León as its poet laureate on Tuesday after De Leon posted a poem that contained a racial epithet in Spanish used to describe Black people.
TPR will not repeat the term in this story.
De León, the city's sixth poet laureate, posted the poem on Facebook in early August as a way to honor Roberto “Dr. Cintli” Rodriguez. The retired profesor of Mexican American studies and musician died several weeks ago.
Juan Tejeda, also a Mexican American studies teacher, used his own post to question De León's use of the term.
“It was a poem type of eulogy [for Rodriguez], he said. "Unfortunately, [De León] used what some people are calling now the ‘M-word,’ which has been used in a racist and derogatory way within our Chicano culture and Mexican-American culture here in San Antonio to refer to Black people.”
De León responded that his language choice was entirely subjective. What it means to one person, he explained, may not be what it means to the next.
A statement from San Antonio's Arts and Culture Department said the city “championed policies and practices that empower a just, inclusive and equitable city,” and that “the poet laureate is to uphold these values.”
De León did not respond to TPR's request for comment.
He is from Laredo, and he was raised as a migrant worker and picked chiles, tomatoes, lettuce, oranges, and cantaloupes. He eventually became an artist and author, and he created a bilingual newspaper in Lubbock.
Tejeda noted De León’s lengthy career in Chicano arts and expressed regret that a solution couldn’t have been reached. He wondered if the city’s decision came too quickly.
“I think we're in a moment of time where, for better or for worse, there's this sort of cancel culture out there, and I think we need to be careful with that,” he said.
Tejeda added: “I would have hoped the city would have given him the chance to [explain himself]. I reconsider his use of that word — or say at least that he understands and acknowledges that it's been used as a slur — and would have given him a chance to apologize and just say, 'hey, I've changed my poem. I won’t use it again in that context.' ”
Andrea Vocab Sanderson, one of De León's predecessors as poet laureate, welcomed the city's decision.
“The literature of a Laureate is powerful and its impact should never be underestimated," she said in a statement. "Our narratives must be a true reflection of the reality we see and the foreseeable future that can be attained when we work together in unity and love. Even when we explore language, we must consider its interpretation. I am thankful for community accountability. I support The Department of Arts & Culture and their stance on unifying and uplifting our community through artistic expression.”
The city explained that it will open up nominations in November for a new poet laureate. The city will present the person it selects next April during National Poetry Month.
