”Décima and the Internet”:
Oral Literature on the Digital Stage

Philip Pasmanick

The décima (or décima espinela), a 400 year old pan-hispanic tradition, is the most vigorous
and widespread of Spanish language oral literature forms. Décima is a primarily
improvisational and competitive performance, delivered to a musical accompaniment in a
strict and challenging metric scheme. Décima began as an erudite literary form during
Spain’s “Golden Age” of literature, but was soon embraced by the masses and spread to the
Americas with the conquest. Décima, therefore, has always existed on two tracks: the oral
tradition (often referred to in Spanish as “popular” or “vernacular”) and the written tradition of Cervantes and Rubén Darío, often called “literario” or “culto” (to the fury of the populares). In fact the line between the written and oral décimas is blurred; written “literary” décimas are often recited, while some apparently improvised verses are in fact written by the poet, memorized, and then sung.

While oral décima was long an isolated phenomenon often limited to rural communities, disdained by the “cultured” poets and the universities and rarely present on mass media (except in Cuba) since about 1990 the art form has experienced a modest revival. One result has been a series of international décima festivals, typically with an academic symposium
attached. Poets and researchers who had long labored in isolation suddenly came in contact with their comrades (and therefore, rivals) from a dozen countries. As many poets have said, ironically or not, a form of globalization has reached this venerable art.

Given these four conditions (the parallel existence of written and oral forms, the improvisational imperative, the intercontinental scope, and university presence, with all its resources), it is not surprising that décima has made itself at home on the internet. Many excellent research papers are available on-line, as well as anthologies and recordings, professional and amateur, of which more later.

But the real innovation is that décima is not only discussed or reproduced on the net, it is practiced under conditions that in important ways emulate and honor the spirit of the oral tradition. I have found numerous “controversias” (one-on-one décima duels) particularly in discussion groups, such as Google group soc.culture.puerto-rico and alt.spanish.usage.
This sort of heated public exchange on a contemporary topic of real interest to the participants is very close to the spirit of an improvised décima debate, and there are examples going back to 1996 at least. These “controversias” are entirely spontaneous and represent a genuine pleasure in the process for its own sake; they are not self-conscious exercises in folklore.

Another venue that honors the oral tradition is the web site dedicated to interactive décima exchanges, such as the long-running El Palacio de mis Versos forum. This site is now in an uncomfortably clunky interface that discourages long threads on a single topic; the old site offers a better example, although it is no longer active:
http://books.dreambook.com/elpalaciodemisversos/trovos.html
I have seen many of these sites come and go; sometimes they just disappear without warning, destroying thousands of lines of poetry, unwittingly emulating another feature of improvised verse: its evanescence.

Next, there are interactive poetry sites that feature décima; several are listed on my blog. There are even two English controversias in poetry pages; an artificial exercise, but décima works perfectly well in English and I recommend these sites especially to non-Spanish speakers.

Finally there are occasional episodes that create something even more consonant with the décima performance tradition in that they are public, interactive and in real time. The best of
these encounters were initiated by a décima organization in Cuba (www.miforo.cult.cu) but
are no longer accessible. A session announced for this December was postponed for technical reasons. Another similar real time event was organized for the local poets of Spain’s northern province of Galicia in 1998. Like the Cuban experiment, it is no longer accessible.

Apart from these public venues, I know of many private e-mail exchanges, personal and collective décima blogs, advertisements for commercial products (CDs, books, and now a DVD from Puerto Rico), and so on. These manifestations are too far removed from the characteristics of the oral tradition to really count as such, although they certainly support the art form. They could be compared to the tradition of the very cheap décima handbills once common in the Cuban countryside and elsewhere; this practice survives in Brazil, where it is known as “literatura de cordel”. There is also a fair amount of amateur video of improvised décima performance on sites such as You Tube, including drunken barbecues in Argentina,
strolling minstrels in Brazil, an adorable animated love letter in décimas, and a décima recited
at a staff party.

My contributions to the on-line décima phenomenon include a bilingual blog:

http://www.deciman.blogspot.com/

The unique feature here is a collection of my videos showing authentic décima performances
in festivals set in Spain and Cuba (with hot footage from Mexico on the way). The introductory film is called “Repentistas” and can be viewed as a 15 minute movie, or chapter by chapter. There is a short introductory text and a complete side-by-side transcription/translation document with performance notes that can be read as the video runs: my own home-made eCompanion. Those who require an English version may prefer to start with a three minute film of my bilingual performance. My blog also contains anthologies, scholarly articles, and selected links of all sorts, including everything useful I could find (or write) in English. Material related to my specialties (décima in the Spanish-language classroom and the role of décima in the afrocuban rumba tradition) is also on offer. For those interested in oral literature, I submit that this site is as good a place to start as any to learn about décima and related styles as they are practiced today.

The Internet offers much more than a convenient, dynamic way to share information, opinion and recordings relating to oral literature. In its own peculiar way it has become a digital stage where, in the tradition of their ancestors, poetry enthusiasts can cross swords of verse with their their brothers and sisters around the world.

Philip Pasmanick rumberomenor@comcast.net