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Live Radio Program — Isleño Décimas — TV Documentary

A HISTORICAL RADIO PROGRAM

Irvan and Alfred Perez appear on Rendez-vous des Cajuns

CD & BOOKLET

Spanish Décimas from St. Bernard Parish

Irvan Perez, one of the last décima singers from Delacroix, recorded an album on cassette tape in 1988 in an effort to share his songs and the culture they represent with a wider audience. The recording is now available for purchase on CD, with an accompanying booklet by Samuel G. Armistead and Israel J. Katz, from the Louisiana Folklife Center, reproduced here with permission.

Download the Booklet

Listen to the Décimas:

1. La huerfanita (The Orphan Girl)
Irvan Perez
2. Setecientos setentaisiete (Seventeen Seventy-Seven)
Irvan Perez
3. Un sabadito a la tarde (On a Saturday afternoon)
Irvan Perez
4. Bernal Francés (Bernal the Frenchman)
Irvan Perez
5. La vuelta del marido (The Husband's Return)
Irvan Perez
6. La vida de un jaibero (The Crab Fisherman's Life)
Irvan Perez
7. La Décima de Wila (Wila the Mule)
Irvan Perez
8. Una tarde fresquita de mayo (On a Cool May Afternoon)
Irvan Perez
9. El mosco y el agua alta (Mosquitos and High Water)
Irvan Perez
10. La paloma (The Pigeon)
Irvan Perez
11. Tía Docha y Tío Gómez (Aunt Docha and Uncle Gómez)
Irvan Perez
12. ¡Adiós, España imposible! (Farewell, Impossible Spain!)
Irvan Perez
13. Mi cuñado (My Brother-in-Law)
Irvan Perez
14. La pesca del camarón (Shrimp Fishing)
Irvan Perez
15. Los labios de vaca (Cow Lips)
Irvan Perez
16. El trabajo del welfare (Welfare Work)
Irvan Perez
17. Pobre madre mía (My Poor Mother)
Irvan Perez
TELEVISION DOCUMENTARY

Mosquitoes and High Water

This 1983 television documentary by acclaimed documentary filmmakers Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker, offers a beautiful glimpse into life in lower St. Bernard Parish and the folkways of the Isleños.

Watch the film