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Apprentice Mario Brito wanted to learn to compose decimas since he was a young man. Perdomo is teaching him the formulaic approach to composing decimas with confidence.

The Cuban guajiro singing tradition challenges singers to compose original rhyming verses, or decimas. The decima has ten lines, and each line has eight syllables. Accompanied by the melody of guitar, lute, and tres, a six-stringed three-toned fretted instrument, and the rhythm of the clave and guiro, each singer takes a turn at composing a decima during a session. The verses are a way of boasting in folksong, and the tradition encourages new compositions on topics of pride in everyday life.

Perdomo has been singing the music of the campesinos, or peasant farmers of upland Cuba, since he was a boy. He moved to New Jersey in 1971 and to Florida in 1974. In 1977, Perdomo and his wife, Martha, gathered other Cuban Americans in Medley and Hialeah into a singing group, "Remembranzas del Conuco", or "Remembrances of the Countryside." The group often performs at local civic gatherings and festivals.