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Inscribed on the Memory of the World Regional Register for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010 and on the MoW International Register in 2013, the collections of popular Chilean printed literature, called Lira Popular, are defined as the set of printed sheets of "décima" poetry made in Chile, from the mid-19th century to the first decades of the 20th century. Its creators, popular poets, are heirs to a practice that dates back to the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors, who brought with them a rich thematic tradition and the structure of the tenth spinel. Although it is an urban manifestation, most of the poets come from the peasant world, where popular poetry was preserved and enriched. They worked in the city as labourers or artisans, and dedicated their leisure time to the composition of poetry. Their ability to compose from memory and become custodians of a tradition passed down orally through generations was commendable.

Popular poets made poems about current events. The main themes of their poems are social and political issues in Chile and the world, including police events, such as crimes, assaults and executions. Their physical appearance was also noteworthy. These documents are single sheets of common paper of variable size, 26 x 38 cm or 35 x 56 cm, which bear, as a distinctive feature a popular engraving in the upper area, a large headline below and, in the lower two-thirds, four to eight compositions. They were sold in public squares and markets of the city, and the buyers were mainly workers, cooks, employees, peasants, among others. They were sold by the poets themselves or by child street vendors in the squares or markets of the city of Santiago; they were also taken to other cities, such as Valparaíso and Concepción, by train.

Although the cultural heritage of Spain is reflected in all these literary manifestations of the continent, and some features of Chilean popular poetry are also present in other countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, it may be concluded that the Lira Popular is unique as spontaneous printed poetry, written in tenth spinel by poets, many of them illiterate, who depicted the vast range of emotions and feelings of the people about the historical events of their time.