Payada

The payada is competitive composing and singing of verses native to Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brasil, and parts of Paraguay as part of the Gaucho culture and literature (also called paya in Chile). It is a performance of improvised ten-line verse called décimas usually accompanied by guitar. The performer is called a "payador", and in performances two or more payadores will compete to produce the most eloquent verse, each answering questions posed by the other, often insulting. The durations of these verse duels can be exceedingly long, often many hours, and they end when one payador fails to respond immediately to his opponent. Musical styles often used in the payada are the cifra and the milonga.