Emilio Ballagas' Tenth and its importance for Cuban literature

Abstract

The décima is a verse full of symbolism and folklore for the culture and identity of our nation. Its communicative, aesthetic and melodic value allows it to be adapted to different expressive modalities, such as the singing of tonadas, poetic improvisation and literature. In this sense, this verse stands out in the literary production of numerous Cuban writers, among them the Camagüeyan poet Emilio Ballagas, one of the most outstanding authors in the Latin American lyric of the 20th century. Therefore, the present work aims to carry out the stylistic and semantic analysis of the décimas written by Ballagas to show the characteristics of the verses, the aesthetic, cultural values, the idiomatic and lexical turns, as well as the significance of this stanza in the work of the bard, which allows to particularize in his poetic style. In this way, the importance of the décima for Cuban literature is highlighted and the cultivation and reading of this poetic composition in the new generations is encouraged.