Música jíbara (i.e., jibaro music) is a genre of Puerto Rican music and a term that roughly translates to “country music.” This lesson explores jíbaro culture. It surveys the history of its development, describing the cultural exchange between native inhabitants and the Spanish conquistadores (i.e., colonizers) that led to the production of this type of music. As students explore the important elements of seis music (improvisation, instruments), write their own décimas, and observe a concurso (competition), they will gain new understandings of the preservation, transmission, continuity, and innovation of this Puerto Rican form of cultural expression.

Lesson Paths & Learning Objectives

1. Jíbaro Identity and Culture

   • Describe broadly what música jíbara is and the various cultural influences from which it developed.
   • Explain the contexts of música jíbara: island/diaspora; rural/urban; local/global; tradition/innovation; and ritual/secular.
   • 20+ minutes

2. Seis Jíbaro

   • Describe how seis music relates to jíbaro culture.
   • Identify the contexts of seis music performance.
   • Identify musical elements and instruments associated with seis.
   • 20+ minutes

3. Concursos: Décima Festivals

   • Define concurso and explain its relationship to seis music.
   • Identify the criteria for a successful concurso performance.
   • Write a décima, utilizing the typical features of its structure (ten lines, rhyming scheme, octosyllabic meter).
   • 30+ minutes