Irvan Perez

Irvan Perez

Irván J. Pérez (December 29, 1923 – January 8, 2008), 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 Décimas, a traditional narrative song which is sung in ten line stanzas. 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.