Five books including a novel by world-renowned Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes have been banned from the public high school curriculum in Puerto Rico because of coarse language, education officials announced Friday.

Proofreaders with the Department of Education raised concerns after reading Fuentes' "Aura" and four books by Puerto Rican authors, spokesman Alan Obrador said.

The books had been part of the curriculum for 11th graders in recent years.

Juan Rodriguez, academic affairs subsecretary, said some of the questionable words referred to genitalia.

Students "might learn (those words) in the street, but we have to watch over the integrity of young people, and we cannot endorse the use of such vocabulary in a classroom," he said.

There was no immediate reaction from the likes of educators, librarians and parents' groups following the announcement late Friday.

Fuentes is one of Latin America's most famed novelists and essayists. "Aura" (1962) tells the story of a man who falls in love with the young niece of his boss.

The other banned books are "Antologia personal," by Jose Luis Gonzalez; "El entierro de Cortijo," by Edgardo Rodriguez Julia; "Mejor te lo cuento: antologia personal," by Juan Antonio Ramos; and "Reunion de espejos," a compilation of essays by Jose Luis Vega.

