Stop the music!

Traditionalization of a way of singing the décima in Mexico

Abstract

The décima is a ten-line stanza with deep roots in Mexico, both in written and oral literature. The latter presents different forms of singing, composition, and musical accompaniment depending on the region where it is presented. In other words, the communities that have taken it as the main stanza for their compositions have given it signs of identity that underline the pride for the region, and the concerns of the area. The different forms of singing encourage troubadours to present these signs of identity in their compositions. The present work analyzes how different popular traditions are communicated around the décima to find likeness and variants that allow us to appreciate this phenomenon with a global vision of its popular development in Mexico.