Romancing the Romance: Perceptions (and Boundaries) of the Judeo-Spanish Ballad

During the past decade or so, the Judeo-Spanish romance has enjoyed a rise in popularity. Throughout this period there have been discrepancies between the approaches of performers and scholars, an occurrence by no means peculiar to Judeo-Spanish song, but one that is potentially instructive. Beside the obvious question of style and performance practice, a major discrepancy has been the degree of importance ascribed to the romance as compared to other genres by scholars, performers, and tradition-bearers. Another is the way the romance itself is defined by these groups. Perceptions among the three groups are examined, exploring the question of whether the romance still functions as a symbol of the ballad genre and, by extension, of the culture and people it represents. If so, it is possible that is has become a more important symbol to scholars and performers than to tradition-bearers.