Discover Puerto Rico’s Décima, a Musical Tradition

While its popularity has endured in Spain throughout the subsequent centuries since its medieval origins, it struck a chord in Latin America. 

When talking about décimas as a music genre on the Island, it’s most commonly associated with jíbaros, a name used to describe people from the rural farmlands of Puerto Rico, further away from the metropolis of San Juan. Also known as the décima jíbara, it was also referred to as asonantada, meaning that it loosely followed that riming pattern. Often accompanied by guitars and cuatros, the lyrics would talk about life in these communities, reflecting on love, loss, and the perseverance of the jíbaro during times of prosperity and difficulty. 

Similar to plena, the storytelling element in these songs is what makes them uniquely Boricua, painting a picture of life on the Island for the average Puerto Rican. One of the most well-known choruses in décima music, the le-lo-lai, is another hallmark of the Boricua essence. Used after stanzas, its origins are unclear. Some think it might have come from ancient Spanish workers on the small farms of Castilla, Murcia, and Almería or from even older origins in North Africa. Either way, it was brought from Spain and has become synonymous with jíbaro music and Puerto Rican folklore. You’ll often hear it mentioned in other genres, like salsa!

The History of Décima

Décimas, as we know them today, come from Moorish Medieval Spain. While the tradition died down after the end of the Spanish Reconquista, it regained popularity in the 1600s thanks to the work of Andalusian poet Vicente Martínez de Espinel, who created the octosyllabic rhyming structure for which they are now known. It was subsequently popularized by the famous Spanish poet Lope de Vega, ensuring it would make its way to the Americas. Once these landed in Latin America, they took on a life of their own.

As far as the décima tradition in Puerto Rico, there are sparse historical anecdotes of these early trovadores, with some mention of them in important literary works like Manuel Alonso’s “El Gíbaro” (1849) and “El Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño” (1843), a collection of aguinaldos originally compiled by the Gibernau and Dalmau Printing Press. While trovador was the name given to musicians and poets dating back to medieval Spain, they are now more commonly associated with singers of folkloric and jíbaro music on the Island. Since décimas were passed down from generation to generation via oral tradition, it took some time before they were written down.

Learn more about Puerto Rican Music

The image started to come more into focus in the late 19th and early 20th century, with the work of anthropologist J. Alden Mason, who visited the Island and recorded 109 examples of Puerto Rican traditional music, including plenas and bombas. Key figures during this era were Ángel Pacheco Alvarado, Perfecto Álvarez, Plácido Figueroa, Jesús Díaz, Pepe Meléndez, Vicente Monte El Barbero "The Barber," Cándido Silva Parrilla, Gabriel Rivera Goyo, Iluminado Félix, Pedro Ríos, and Francisco Roque.

The popularity of the décima continued throughout the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, with standout musicians like Joaquín Mouliert. The tradition declined during the 60s and 70s as salsa gained popularity, mostly relegated to religious functions and holiday celebrations. Thanks to the efforts of trovadores on the Island and in the diaspora, as well as organizations, the tradition is as alive as ever! Places like the Casa del Trovador Luis Miranda “Pico de Oro” in the metro town of Caguas is great place to learn more about the work Boricua trovadores have put in to preserve these traditions.