Nephtalí De León

I bring you the things rarely told

I bring you the things rarely told
— about a Gypsy folk,
new world natives
— like Chicano Popcorn,
rarely heard of in academia
rarely seen in libraries or bookstores
— it is a tale of a moving migrant people
multilingual, multicultural, their language
ever changing and growing,
based on ancient Aztec/Nahuatl,
mixed with English, Spanish,
Gypsy, Moorish … it is tale told
sometimes in the Caló of La raza
Cósmica — Chicanos, Chicanas,
who also believe in motherhood
and apple pie…

only their paradise is chile spiced
rushing on tortilla wheels…

Nephtalí De León is an early Chicano writer, poet/painter and gypsy vagabond. He is the author of “Hey, Mr.President, Man!”, “Coca Cola Dream,” and “Chicano Popcorn.” Read the preface to de Leon’s Chicano, published in 1972, HERE.

Tenacatecutli by Nephtali De Leon