Denver Mayor honors deceased prof
by Jerry Roys
The Metropolitan
Photo courtesy of Liz Vanlandingham.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper announced the establishment of the Denver
Poet Laureate post. Late Metro professor and activist Abelardo “Lalo”
Delgado was named as Denver’s first Poet Laureate in a tribute ceremony
Friday, Sept. 10.
Abelardo “Lalo” Delgado was a part-time instructor in the
Chicano Studies program at Metro for 17 years. Even when death was near,
he was still worried about his classes and his students, former Chicano
Studies Chair Luis Torres said.
Delgado passed away July 23.
A tribute to Delgado was held on Friday, Sept. 10, at North High School.
Delgado’s wife, Lola, his children, grandchildren, friends and admirers
attended the tribute. Throughout the dedication, family and friends read
poetry.
Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper took center stage honoring Delgado
as Denver’s first Poet Laureate.
“The city of Denver, indeed the entire country, mourns the loss
of Lalo Delgado,” Hickenlooper said. “His gifts to us were
many: as a teacher, as a mentor, as an advocate and as an artist and leader.”
The city wanted to find a way to honor him, Hickenlooper said.
“So, I’m pleased to announce tonight, on this special occasion,
that the City and County of Denver for the first time is establishing
the honorary post of Denver Poet Laureate,” he said. “I’m
honored to announce the name of the first Denver Poet Laureate is Abelardo
Lalo Delgado.”
One hundred years from now, there will be a long list of names on a plaque,
and Delgado’s name will be the first, he added.
This announcement received a standing ovation.
In his presentation “Reflection on Lalo,” Torres reminisced
about the 30-plus years he knew Delgado.
“His office was across from mine, so I saw him every day he taught,”
Torres said. He first met Delgado in 1970 at CU Boulder when he was a
student. Delgado had come from Texas to work in the beginnings of the
Chicano Education Opportunity Program, the forerunner to Affirmative Action.
“That was a difficult time period that historians now refer to
as the Chicano Movement,” Torres said. “What has always stood
out to me about Lalo during the years 1970 to 1972, when I first knew
him, was the mentorship he provided to me and other young Chicano students.”
This was a time when Chicanos were trying to get the University of Colorado
to recognize them by marching, picketing and taking over campus buildings,
Torres said.
“Those were formative years for me personally, and Lalo’s
mentorship helped shape my path,” Torres said. “He helped
us to understand if you engage in violence you betray the Movement and
help defeat it.”
Delgado taught Torres and many others to be creative, persistent and
to come up with ideas to help people, he also said.
Throughout the dedication, family, friends, colleagues, community leaders,
and dignitaries paid homage to the legendary Chicano poet and activist.
Former New Hampshire Gov. Jean Shaheen read a letter sent by Massachusetts
Sen. John Kerry.
“His dedication to helping the people of Colorado is unmatched,”
Shaheen read. “Lalo Delgado created a public voice for the private
pain of the Chicano Movement. He aimed to ease the suffering of Chicanos;
to acknowledge the frustration of those he lived beside, those he worked
beside: his people.”
In his letter, Kerry stated Delgado stopped to chronicle the victories
and the defeats of the Movement and in doing so gave birth to the Chicano
literary movement, reaching an audience far beyond the Chicanos of the
Southwestern United States.
“Lalo Delgado worked tirelessly to free, in his words, ‘the
poets and Picassos of our western states.’ I am a great admirer
of his. I will forever be moved by his words and his courage, sincerely
John Kerry.”
Delores Huerta, first vice president emeritus of United Farm Workers
of America, spoke of her past with Delgado.
“I used to stalk Lalo because I was trying to get him to come and
work for the Union,” Huerta said. She told Cesar Chavez that they
needed a poet in the movement but she could never get Delgado to commit
because of obligations to his family.
Huerta said it was an honor to be around Delgado’s family.
In a previous interview, Delgado said his writing had given him something
he thought he would never have. For Delgado’s 65th birthday his
family gave him a surprise party. Each individual got up and said how
they felt about him. Delgado was amazed because this is the audience he
felt was hardest for him to win.
“I have gained the admiration of my own children and grandchildren,”
Delgado said. “I have been admired by a lot of people, but when
you gain the admiration of your own family, that’s a lot.”
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