Irvan Perez
Encyclopedia
Irván J. Pérez who was sometimes known as "Pooka", was an American
Isleño décima
singer and woodcarver, as well as a leading advocate for the language
and culture
of the Isleños
of Louisiana
.
Perez was known for singing traditional Décima
s, a traditional narrative
song which is sung in ten line stanza
s. The origins of many of Perez's songs could be traced to Spain
and the Canary Islands
during the Middle Ages
. Other decimas were written by Perez to preserve the distinct Isleño language and culture
in Louisiana.
Perez was considered the best décima singer in the Western Hemisphere
. He was also one of the United States' and the world's few remaining native speakers of the Isleños dialect
. The Isleños dialect is a combination of old formal Spanish
, 18th-century maritime Spanish and influences of Louisiana's better known Cajun French
.
Perez, like other Isleños, was a direct descendent of Canary Islanders
who settled in St. Bernard Parish in southern Louisiana in the late 18th century.
, where he grew up with both his nuclear and extended family
. He spoke very little English
until he began attending grade school. His grandfather, Mimiro Perez, lost over $
9,000 when the banks went out of business during the Great Depression
. Perez's father, Serafin Perez, taught him how to sing the traditional décimas and to carve decoy duck
s. Perez's carvings were used in hunting, as well as art
. Serafin Perez lost his home, as well as eighty decoys, when Hurricane Betsy
devastated Louisiana in 1965.
When World War II
broke out, Perez dropped out of high school and enlisted in the United States Army
. He served in the Pacific
during the war and returned to southern Louisiana after it ended. He found work at the Kaiser Aluminum
factory in Chalmette, Louisiana
, from 1950 to 1975. He later earned his high school general equivalency degree.
songs through five local Isleño Louisiana dance hall
s. The dance halls would often allow the singing of traditional décimas in between other musical genre
s. The subjects of Perez's décimas varied widely, ranging from lost love to hurricanes to fishing
to the plight of modern Isleños culture.
Perez was considered by experts to be the world's best singer of the traditional décima. Researchers and music experts visited Perez's home in Delacroix Island from around the world in order to study the Isleño language, décimas, and culture. Among Perez's more noted researchers was Samuel Armistead of the University of California, Davis
, who documented and recorded his Old
and New World
s décimas, whose origins ranged from 16th-century Spain and the Canary Islands to the 20th-century Louisiana Bayou
. He was also often visited by Canarian
and Spanish researchers, sociologists and cultural anthropologists who were interested in Perez's efforts to preserve his culture through his music.
Perez, who was known for his high pitched, tenor
voice, which many believed was perfect for singing décimas, performed at many well known events throughout the United States during his career. He was featured in the 1999 PBS
series River of Song: A Musical Journey. Audio recordings of his songs are kept at the Louisiana Division of the Arts' Folklife in Education Project. Perez performed at the Wolf Trap National Folk Festival
, Carnegie Hall
and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
In addition to his décima, Perez was an expert woodcarver of decoys and realistic looking songbird
s and water fowl from cypress
roots. Many of his works were sold to support his family, while others have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, D.C.
National Heritage Fellowship
.
during their visit to Jackson, Mississippi
in 2001. The Spanish Monarchs
were in Mississippi
to visit the "The Majesty of Spain" art exhibit at the time. Perez also made several trips to the Canary Islands over the years, where he was often honored by both residents and the government of the islands. He also served as the president of the Canary Island Descendants Association.
Perez's wife, Louise Perez, whom he had been married to for 64 years, died on June 7, 2005, shortly before Hurricane Katrina
struck the state. Louise was a well known expert in Isleño cuisine
. Perez lost his home when Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana that same year. He also lost irreplaceable recordings of his father's songs, as well as most of his woodworking
tools.
Perez remained active in the arts until the end of his life. He sang at a public concert just three weeks before his death and carved one of his ducks the day he died. He suffered a heart attack at his home in Poydras, Louisiana
. He died later that day at the age of 85 at Tulane Medical Center
in New Orleans on January 8, 2008.
His funeral was held on January 11, at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Saint Bernard, Louisiana. Perez's funeral mass was the first held at the church since its restoration following Hurricane Katrina. Perez was buried in St. Bernard Catholic Cemetery. He was survived by four daughters, 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter.
Perez was one of the last of the Isleños décimas singers. There are a few dozen native Isleños speakers left in Louisiana, but almost no one in the community can sing the décimas. The government of the Canary Islands declared Perez the "last of the decima singers" following his death and dedicated a memorial Mass to him in January 2008.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Isleño décima
Décima
A décima refers to a ten-line stanza of poetry, and the song form generally consists of forty-four lines...
singer and woodcarver, as well as a leading advocate for the language
Canarian Spanish
Canarian Spanish is a variant of standard Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands by the Canarian people, and in the southeastern section of Louisiana in Isleño communities that emigrated to the Americas as early as the 18th century...
and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of the Isleños
Isleños
Isleño is the Spanish word meaning "islander." The Isleños are the descendants of Canary Island immigrants to Louisiana, Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and other parts of the Americas....
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
.
Perez was known for singing traditional Décima
Décima
A décima refers to a ten-line stanza of poetry, and the song form generally consists of forty-four lines...
s, a traditional narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
song which is sung in ten line stanza
Stanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s. The origins of many of Perez's songs could be traced to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and the Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Other decimas were written by Perez to preserve the distinct Isleño language and culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
in Louisiana.
Perez was considered the best décima singer in the Western Hemisphere
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
. He was also one of the United States' and the world's few remaining native speakers of the Isleños dialect
Canarian Spanish
Canarian Spanish is a variant of standard Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands by the Canarian people, and in the southeastern section of Louisiana in Isleño communities that emigrated to the Americas as early as the 18th century...
. The Isleños dialect is a combination of old formal Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, 18th-century maritime Spanish and influences of Louisiana's better known Cajun French
Cajun French
Cajun French is a variety or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in Louisiana, specifically in the southern and southwestern parishes....
.
Perez, like other Isleños, was a direct descendent of Canary Islanders
Canarian people
The Canarians are an ethnic group living in the archipelago of the Canary Islands , near the coast of Western Africa...
who settled in St. Bernard Parish in southern Louisiana in the late 18th century.
Early life
Perez was born on December 29, 1923. He was a native of Delacroix Island, LouisianaDelacroix Island, Louisiana
Delacroix Island or Delacroix is an unincorporated town in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States.-History:In the 1780s, Spanish Canary Islanders, or Isleños, settled in the area after being given land grants from Spain. After selling their land grants to the planters, the Isleños frequently...
, where he grew up with both his nuclear and extended family
Extended family
The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
. He spoke very little English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
until he began attending grade school. His grandfather, Mimiro Perez, lost over $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
9,000 when the banks went out of business during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
. Perez's father, Serafin Perez, taught him how to sing the traditional décimas and to carve decoy duck
Decoy
A decoy is usually a person, device or event meant as a distraction, to conceal what an individual or a group might be looking for. Decoys have been used for centuries most notably in game hunting, but also in wartime and in the committing or resolving of crimes.-Duck decoy:The term duck decoy may...
s. Perez's carvings were used in hunting, as well as art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. Serafin Perez lost his home, as well as eighty decoys, when Hurricane Betsy
Hurricane Betsy
Hurricane Betsy was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1965 Atlantic hurricane season which caused enormous damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana. Betsy made its most intense landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River, causing significant flooding of the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into...
devastated Louisiana in 1965.
When World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out, Perez dropped out of high school and enlisted in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
. He served in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
during the war and returned to southern Louisiana after it ended. He found work at the Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum is an American aluminum producer. The company was founded in 1946 by American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. Kaiser entered the aluminum business by leasing, then purchasing three government-owned aluminum facilities in Washington state. These were the primary reduction plants at...
factory in Chalmette, Louisiana
Chalmette, Louisiana
Chalmette is a census-designated place in and the parish seat of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 32,069 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, from 1950 to 1975. He later earned his high school general equivalency degree.
Décimas
In addition to his father's oral traditions, Perez learned some of the décimaDécima
A décima refers to a ten-line stanza of poetry, and the song form generally consists of forty-four lines...
songs through five local Isleño Louisiana dance hall
Dance hall
Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub...
s. The dance halls would often allow the singing of traditional décimas in between other musical genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s. The subjects of Perez's décimas varied widely, ranging from lost love to hurricanes to fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
to the plight of modern Isleños culture.
Perez was considered by experts to be the world's best singer of the traditional décima. Researchers and music experts visited Perez's home in Delacroix Island from around the world in order to study the Isleño language, décimas, and culture. Among Perez's more noted researchers was Samuel Armistead of the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
, who documented and recorded his Old
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
and New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
s décimas, whose origins ranged from 16th-century Spain and the Canary Islands to the 20th-century Louisiana Bayou
Bayou
A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...
. He was also often visited by Canarian
Canarian people
The Canarians are an ethnic group living in the archipelago of the Canary Islands , near the coast of Western Africa...
and Spanish researchers, sociologists and cultural anthropologists who were interested in Perez's efforts to preserve his culture through his music.
Perez, who was known for his high pitched, tenor
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
voice, which many believed was perfect for singing décimas, performed at many well known events throughout the United States during his career. He was featured in the 1999 PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series River of Song: A Musical Journey. Audio recordings of his songs are kept at the Louisiana Division of the Arts' Folklife in Education Project. Perez performed at the Wolf Trap National Folk Festival
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, known locally in the Washington, D.C. area as simply Wolf Trap, is a performing arts center located on 130 acres of national park land in Wolf Trap, Virginia...
, Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
and the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
In addition to his décima, Perez was an expert woodcarver of decoys and realistic looking songbird
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
s and water fowl from cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
roots. Many of his works were sold to support his family, while others have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Honors
Perez was a 1991 recipient of the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
National Heritage Fellowship
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...
.
Later life
Perez performed his décimas for King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of SpainQueen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain is the wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.-Early life and family:Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika , a former princess of Hanover...
during their visit to Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
in 2001. The Spanish Monarchs
Spanish monarchy
The Monarchy of Spain, constitutionally referred to as The Crown and commonly referred to as the Spanish monarchy or Hispanic Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and an historic office of Spain...
were in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
to visit the "The Majesty of Spain" art exhibit at the time. Perez also made several trips to the Canary Islands over the years, where he was often honored by both residents and the government of the islands. He also served as the president of the Canary Island Descendants Association.
Perez's wife, Louise Perez, whom he had been married to for 64 years, died on June 7, 2005, shortly before Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
struck the state. Louise was a well known expert in Isleño cuisine
Cuisine
Cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. Cuisines are often named after the geographic areas or regions that they originate from...
. Perez lost his home when Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana that same year. He also lost irreplaceable recordings of his father's songs, as well as most of his woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
tools.
Perez remained active in the arts until the end of his life. He sang at a public concert just three weeks before his death and carved one of his ducks the day he died. He suffered a heart attack at his home in Poydras, Louisiana
Poydras, Louisiana
Poydras is a census-designated place in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,886 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He died later that day at the age of 85 at Tulane Medical Center
Tulane Medical Center
The Tulane Medical Center is a hospital located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Tulane Medical Center has centers covering nearly all major specialties of medicine, and is the primary teaching hospital for the Tulane University School of Medicine...
in New Orleans on January 8, 2008.
His funeral was held on January 11, at St. Bernard Catholic Church in Saint Bernard, Louisiana. Perez's funeral mass was the first held at the church since its restoration following Hurricane Katrina. Perez was buried in St. Bernard Catholic Cemetery. He was survived by four daughters, 10 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and a great-great-granddaughter.
Perez was one of the last of the Isleños décimas singers. There are a few dozen native Isleños speakers left in Louisiana, but almost no one in the community can sing the décimas. The government of the Canary Islands declared Perez the "last of the decima singers" following his death and dedicated a memorial Mass to him in January 2008.
External links
- NPR: Louisiana's 'Islenos' Torn Apart by Katrina
- Nola.com: Irvan Perez, keeper of Isleno culture
- Washington Post: Irván Pérez, 85; Singer of Décimas Preserved Isleños Culture, Dialect
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Obituary: Irvan J. Perez, Singer preserved unique La. dialect
- PBS River of Song: Irvan Perez
- Louisiana Folklife Center: Louise Perez biography (Wife of Irvan Perez)
- NEA National Heritage Fellowship Irvan Perez
- Canary Islands Descendants Association