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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.〔 ==Early life== Perez was born on December 29, 1923. He was a native of Delacroix Island, Louisiana, 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 ducks.〔 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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Irvan Perez」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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