This article presents a melodic pattern of traditional romances from the middle Atrato River region. The “melodic model” refers to a series of melodies recognized as similar in the sound tradition of the region, so that when they are sung, despite their musical differences, they also share many similarities, including having the same refrain. This article offers a brief contextualization of the romances of the culture of this western subregion of Colombia and reviews other studies that have addressed this musical phenomenon. The term romance is defined, as is the way it is used by the regional culture that has adopted it. Finally, the article presents a broader characterization of melodic pattern, a concept associated with melodic contour, and provides an example of this by analyzing the musical characteristics of a group of works from this musical tradition.