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For hundreds of years people from around the globe have been sucked up by hurricane force winds, carried far from home, and deposited on the shores of Louisiana. Here they merged and melded, first with the earliest inhabitants, and then, over time, with one another.
As the hurricane raged, diverse cultures where churned into new and unique music, religious rituals, and incredible cuisine, all of which rained down on New Orleans.
Hurricanes have formed and shaped New Orleans throughout history, both as cultural metaphor and as land razing realities for hundreds of years.

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New Orleans is culturally distinct from the rest of the United States. For hundreds of years people have arrived in North America from around the globe, and created diasporic communities. However, New Orleans stands out in her ability to integrate each successive wave of arrivals into her existing culture. Yes, New Orleans has dealt with her share of issues such as racial disparity and inequality. But somehow, New Orleans still manages to shine in her ability to move beyond the boundaries of race, culture, and religion, and create her own unique style. I believe in this regard New Orleans can stand as an example of how to welcome and embrace diverse cultures, and make them a part of your own, especially when it comes to Music, Religion, and Food, which is what this page explores.
The people of the diasporas of the world often live as outsiders. But in New Orleans the diasporas are the creative lifeblood of the city.  It is not just a problem to be dealt with, but an opportunity for change and growth on a community wide level.

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A Brief Timeline of the People Who Inhabit New Orleans

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A Brief Timeline of the People Who Inhabit New Orleans

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People from around the world have been arriving in the area of New Orleans for hundreds of year. For an idea of where some of these people came from check out the Google Earth Link Below. But keep in mind, this map does not show all the nations that contributed to her modern culture.
"New Orleans's origin story is often told as a cultural gumbo recipe that ignores the social forces mixing Spanish and French colonists, English mercantilists, African slaves, and later waves of German, Irish, Italian, and other migrants." (Fussell)

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here.

Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

Learn more about Google Earth.

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Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

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So, how can Cultural Amalgamation, be Seen, Heard, and Tasted in New Orleans?

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So, how can Cultural Amalgamation, be Seen, Heard, and Tasted in New Orleans?

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New Orleans has a rich cultural heritage, and, arguably, there’s  nowhere else in the United States where cultures have so overlapped and blended together to form such diverse Food, Music, and Religiously Rooted Rituals. The Hurricane force winds of New Orleans melded a city unlike any other in the U. S.
New Orleans not only welcomed people to the city, but in ways unlike other major U. S. cities, immigrants, refuges, and others, were culturally blended in with the older inhabitants. They didn't just form their own diasporic enclaves, they mixed and created new and unusual ones with the other people that were already present.

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So, how do we hear the unique blending of cultures in New Orleans?
First lets take a brief look at a timeline of the New Orleans Music Scene. Then we can see some examples of different music styles that evolved out of her unique diaspora.

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Congo Square New Orleans is where Black slaves, free Blacks, and Native Americans came to sell goods, mingle, and socialize. Eventually, the area became a place for performances of dance, music, and, for awhile, a place where voodoo rites were practiced. Here, cultures mixed, laying the foundation for New Orleans unique music.

"In New Orleans, Sunday was a day of relaxation, even for the slaves... they gathered by the hundreds under the sycamores in Congo Place, and from early afternoon until nightfall they danced to the rhythm of tom-toms and crude stringed instruments." (Roach)

Today, visitors to Congo Square can see a statue of Jazz great, Louis Armstrong, any early contributor to New Orleans diverse music scene.

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•	Cajun and Zydeco music, because of their blending of cultures, have many similarities. Both have elements of French and African influence, but acquired those roots in different ways. 

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•	Cajun and Zydeco music, because of their blending of cultures, have many similarities. Both have elements of French and African influence, but acquired those roots in different ways. 

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It’s commonly known that New Orleans is the birth place of Jazz, but New Orleans has always been on the cutting edge of the music scene. Two popular forms of music in New Orleans that are less well known are Cajun and Zydeco Music. But, like Jazz, they would not have been possible if not for the mixing of diasporas in New Orleans.

So what’s the difference between Cajun and Zydeco? “The term “Cajun” is an anglicized rendition of “Cadien”, which is a shortened version of “Acadien,” the French word for Acadian. It refers to the white, francophone people and culture of Southwest Louisiana.” (Mattern)

That may not have cleared things up for you, but it does show how deep and twisted the roots of Louisiana culture are.

Early migrant’s who left France, found safe harbor in Nova Scotia for 150 years. But then, where exiled. However,  some of them made their way to New Orleans, where, from a cultural standpoint, they  blended with the free and enslaved black populations. This early blending gave rise to many unique New Orleans music scenes.

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Steve Riley and Doug Kershaw performing “Jolie Blonde” 

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Steve Riley and Doug Kershaw performing “Jolie Blonde” 

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Cajun Music:
“During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, poor Cajuns… interacted closely with black Creoles… Cajun musicians such as Octa Clark, who states that he composed blues songs after hearing black Creoles singing in the fields” (Mattern).

Both Cajun and Zydeco music make use of the accordion, but Cajun music usually includes the Fiddle too. By the close association of two diasporas, the black Creoles and the white Acadians, new styles of music were born.

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Doug Kershaw avec Steve Riley "Jolie Blonde"

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Zydeco Music:
“The African precursors of Zydeco music include slave music, in the form of rhythmic stomping, filed hollers, jure singers, and hand clapping accompanied by rhythm instruments such as spoons, washboards, and sticks” (Mattern).

Zydeco, which originated in these early forms, is also influenced by Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Blues, and Soul.

Both Cajun and Zydeco (along with jazz and other localized forms of music) emerged from the blending of diasporic communities. And while the diasporas of other cities around the U. S. might have given rise to some unique music, I would argue that no other city has had such a profusion of music traditions as New Orleans has. Making this region truly unique.

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Buckwheat Zydeco: "Let The Good Times Roll" - Buckwheat's World #29

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But like everything else in New Orleans, her music just keeps merging and growing. So, there's no one definitive musical experience.

"Here, very early, diverse cultural groups met and slowly fused their cultures into something new..." (Joyce)
And the local music scene continues to evolve even today.

When speaking of diasporas, one often hears the term appropriated. But I believe in New Orleans there has been cultural mixing to such a sufficient level that this term rarely applies.  Instead cultures have shared with one another. Dr. John in the image below, seems to be incorporating aspects of Native American, New Orleans Black Indian gangs, and Voodoo Gris Gris into his attire.
"Dr. John... takes his stage name from the formidable nineteenth-century  New Orleans Voodoo, alias Bayou John, who intimidated slaves and slaveholders alike." (Roach)

Dr. John pulled from New Orleans rich cultural heritage and created for himself a new persona and a unique sound. And he is not alone in doing this. Beloved music icons of the city, from past to present, have merged multiple cultures, in the making of new and exciting  works of art.

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Lyrics to Dr. John’s – “How Come My Dog Don't Bark When You Come Around?”

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Lyrics to Dr. John’s – “How Come My Dog Don't Bark When You Come Around?”

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Now you say you ain't never met my wife, you ain't never seen her befo, '
Say you ain't been hangin' roun' my crib; well here's somethin' I wanna know...
I wanna know what in the worl' is goin' down,

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

I got the baddest dog, he'll bite anybody.
He bit my little brother, took a chunk out of my ol' sweet li'l mother.
He bit the mailman - he sees him every day; he takes one look at you, he wanna jump up and play.
Now I ain't got a clue as to what you puttin' down, but

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

My dog's dangerous; tried to set people straight;
I even bought a "Bad dog" sign an' hung it on the gate.
Here you come trippin' up 'bout a quarter of nine
Fulla dat Night Train wine, tryin' to slide past the sign...

My dog been noddin' off, ain't payin' you no mind.
That's my dog, when I come home he don't sleep that sound!

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

I still don't like it, I don't dig it one damn bit,
The way you an' my dog's so tight, somethin' don't fit!
I slipped through the alley, I called my dog,
Said, "get off your rusty duster, move a little faster to your ol' master, you old cayute, you."

He took one look at me, an' he growled an' he ran straight to you.
Now somebody's been confusin' my po' hound.
An I wanna know what's goin' down.

How come my dog don't bark when you come around?

(Clarinet Solo)

Maybe I better call up Jacoby & Myers, an' you can take the fifth, amendment, that is.
You better stand up fo' your rights, 'cause you might not be standin' too long.
I'm gonna stop all this confusion. I'm gon' fire that hound., shoot that dog down.
Then I'm gonna get busy mutilatin, strangulatin' operatin', an' crematin' my Ol' Lady down at the cremation station.
Then I'm gonna torch that, too, and come right on after you!

You can give you heart an' soul to charity; all the rest gonna belong to me.

I'm goin' straight down to dat barber supply shop, get me a pearl handle, double edge, hollow ground, super blue blade, adjustable, stainless steel, honed edge, both blades on the same side so when I cut you once, you gonna bleed twice, goin' an' comin'. An' if you don' believe me, shake yo' head; it'll be singin' "I ain't got no body."

'Cause one night I did a little fbi Double-O-Seven-type investigatin'. You an' my Ol' Lady thought I was gone, but I wasn't gone. Dat's why I have to separate you from your ground. An the only soun' you gonna hear when you six feet in the ground:

To hear Dr. John sing this song, click the link below.

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How Come My Dog Don't Bark (When You Come Around)- Dr  John

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From the Quietus Interview with Dr. John in 2010

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From the Quietus Interview with Dr. John in 2010

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You’ve teamed up with Allen Toussaint again, who is another New Orleans legend. Given the similarities in your career and the status you both share, was there ever a point where you would have been considered rivals?

DJ: I was producin’ records and a lot of other stuff before Allen, but Allen was a lot more successful as a record producer and as a songwriter. He plugged into all that. We had a lot of things that happened in common; we cut a lot of sessions together and we’ve been friends for a long time... Despite the fact that N’awlins wasn’t such a good place to live, you could honour the music and the food; we could honour a lot of things about our culture. It was something sacred to us.

What are you spiritual beliefs?

DJ: The spirit kingdom is more powerful than the meat world we live in. We bleed from the spirit kingdom. This meat world we live in is the temple for that. When this meat gets wore out, you’re gonna croak. Once you croak, they bury you six feet in the ground. If you’ve really done right, then you’ll feel like, “it’s all okay. I did the best I could.” If you don’t feel right, if you didn’t do somethin’ that you feel good about, you just wasted a lot of time...

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Distinct New Orleans Religion based Rituals and Celebrations

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Distinct New Orleans Religion based Rituals and Celebrations

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Jazz Funerals, Voodoo, Mardi Gras, and Second Lines

"African and Native American cultural elements were an integral part of the extraordinary Afro Creole dance and musical traditions that were perforemd every Sunday in New Orleans' Congo Square until the Voodoo queen, Marie Laveau, died in the late nineteenth-century." (Turner, Mardi Gras)

From a mixing of cultures in Congo Square came a vast array of unique religious rituals and performances.

No other city in the U.S. can lay claim to such a diverse array of wildly popular celebrations and events, that link directly to her ability to assimilate the cultural "Other" into a cohesive new self.

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"The ritual celebration of the Jazz funeral...establishes strong ties with Africa... but also with other communities in the diaspora, Haiti, Jamaica, Tobago, Trinidad, Brazil. This African-American celebration is a unique example of creolization... the blending of cultures from the old World, African and Europe, and from the New World, the West Indies and the Americas." (Kein)

Watch the link below to see some of the elements of a Jazz Funeral.
RIP Dr. John.

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Dr. John Memorial Celebration Second Line

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June 22, 2019.

START at The Orpheum Theater (129 Roosevelt Way)
Left on Canal Street
Right on Basin Street
ENDS at St. Louis Street

http://wwoz.org

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Jazz Funerals and 2nd Lines blend several religious customs and beliefs. Think about Dr. John's Funeral Procession and what you saw in the video clip.

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Jazz Funerals and 2nd Lines blend several religious customs and beliefs. Think about Dr. John's Funeral Procession and what you saw in the video clip.

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1: Rites of social renewa1: Although the music changes to something more lively as the procession parades through the streets, the first song we hear being played is a Christian hymn. Traditionally the bands will play Protestant hymns.

2: Notice that many people are carrying umbrellas. Oftentimes they are white in color, an African color of mourning. The umbrellas often have a dove of peace on top, which is a blending of Catholicism and American Protestantism.

3: A brass band leads the procession. "By the period of Reconstruction... a brass band tradition was firmly rooted in the black society. This twin growth of social aid societies and the brass band tradition connected with funeral rites gave birth to a rather unique form of celebration" (Kein).

4: Dancing is also a standard feature of the Jazz Funeral.  "Expanding the African processional tradition, the Jazz Funeral parade includes the funeral, dances of the West Indian Voodoo religion" (Kein).

5: Notice the use of an effigy (in the form of a photo) of Dr. John. This can be thought of as a stand in for the original. "Celebrations of death function as rites of social renewal, especially when the decedents occupy positions to which intense collective attention is due" (Roach).

6: Other aspects of Jazz Funerals are the parading members of Black Indian tribes, and ladies dressed as baby-dolls.

Jazz Funerals are pretty well unique in the U. S. to New Orleans. Without the blending of various religious rites and cultures, they could not exist. They incorporate Christian, Catholic, Haitian, and West African, among other, regions and faiths. Only New Orleans' hurricane force winds could bring together and permanently merge such diversity.

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Haitian Influences  in New Orleans and Voodoo

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Haitian Influences  in New Orleans and Voodoo

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"These early Haitians brought their African and Catholic religious traditions, languages, music, architecture, literature, theater, and community values to New Orleans." (Turner, Gede)

Like Haiti, New Orleans also had a melding of African religion and Catholicism occurring, and Congo Square was the place a lot of this cultural mixing happened.

Ina Fandrich said, "The Voodoo religion... found a strange home under Catholic auspices where what appeared on the surface to be Christian symbols and rituals was abundantly filled and redefined with African spirit and meaning." (Turner, Gede)

Voodoo culture is closely associated with New Orleans, and in the city today, Voodoo shops and museums are popular tourist destinations although it has nearly disappeared as a practiced belief and in ritual ceremonies.

"The fusion between various African-based religions traditions is especially prominent in Louisiana, where "Voodoo" has become a generic term for any form of spiritual beliefs and practices remotely associated with the Black continent." (Fandrich)
The key words for me in this quote are "especially prominent in Louisiana," New Orleans is indeed unique.

To see a video on the history of Voodoo, click the link below.

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New Orleans Voodoo Woman History of Voodoo in America New Orleans Voodoo Documentary New Orleans Voodoo Queen Cajun Voodoo History New Orleans Voodoo Practitioners New Orleans Fighting Girls Club New Orleans New Orleans Voodoo Rituals New Orleans Cutt Boyz Documentary New Orleans Voodoo Supplies French New Orleans Documentary

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Montana who was Chief of the Yellow Pocahantas tribe, was New Orleans most famous Mardi Gras Indian leader during the twentieth-century.
New Orleans Black Indian tribes evolved out of secret societies and today they participate in Mardi Gras parades throughout the city and can be found parading in Jazz funerals and at other cultural celebrations.

They are part of "Carnival performance traditions that are descended from, commemorate, and reinterpret the resistance strategies of Louisiana's African-Amerindian maroon communities during slavery." (Turner, Gede)

Maroon communities are not unique to New Orleans, yet here, the maroon communities led to a very unique society. Black Indian tribes who parade in extraordinary, feathered, beaded,  and sequined costumes. Once again New Orleans stands out as a city where the mixing of different cultures led to unique traditions unlike anywhere else in the U. S.

To learn more about Montana and the Black Indian costumes, click the link below.

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The Black Indian tribes that perform in Second Lines and Mardi Gras, arose because of cross cultural influences.

"Afro-Creole slaves also created rich religious, music and folklore traditions that were influenced by significant cultural and social interactions with Choctaw, Houma, and Chickasaw Indians, French and Canadian Catholic, settlers, and pirates." (Turner, Mardi Gras)

Luckily for us, New Orleans' hurricane winds were blowing and mixing things up. As a result, New Orleans offers a bounty of unique cultural events like her Mardi Gras parades and Second Lines.

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Mardi Gras, a Celebration of Music, Dance, Parades and Food

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Mardi Gras, a Celebration of Music, Dance, Parades and Food

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So, Mardi Gras in New Orleans incorporates numerous cultural and religious customs. But it's not all parades and drinking like many tourists seem to believe. Music, and food also play a part in the celebration.

Watch the link below to learn more about Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

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Celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans | National Geographic

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The King Cake, A Mardi Gras Food Tradition

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The King Cake, A Mardi Gras Food Tradition

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"The king cake is one of the seasonal food associated with Mardi Gras...The tradition was brought from France to New Orleans... The king cake itself has also changed recently." (Williams)

Like everything else in New Orleans, given enough time, cultural traditions will begin to evolve and change. It was in New Orleans that the color theme of green, purple, and yellow, in decorating the king cake, began.

The tiny babies (shown in the image)  role in the king cake tradition has also been changing "reflecting a cultural shift." (Willaims)

And the cake itself has evolved from a simple French brioche to an iced and sugared Danish type treat.

New Orleans can't help herself up, she just keeps mixing things up.

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Food, the unique flavors of Louisiana's "Swamp Floor Pantry," (Folse) and the every evolving cuisine of the Big Easy.

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Food, the unique flavors of Louisiana's "Swamp Floor Pantry," (Folse) and the every evolving cuisine of the Big Easy.

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New Orleans has her own distinct flavor, and it couldn’t have come about without the fusing of numerous cultures from around the world.

“Each nation that settled Louisiana’s swamps, bayous, and prairies contributed to our culinary melting pot where new ideas combined with centuries old ingredients found in Louisiana’s “Swamp Floor Pantry” (Folse).

Nowhere in America, I would argue, will you find a city whose cuisine has such diverse heritage. New cultures not only brought foods and cooking styles with them, but they assimilated these new foods into the already present cuisine of the area. Old favorite standby’s can still be found, but exciting new offshoots that blend the new with the old  often emerge from those ever present Hurricane force winds.

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So how did New Orleans Cuisine come to be?

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So how did New Orleans Cuisine come to be?

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When settlers arrived in the area of New Orleans, they were unfamiliar with the local foods. But, from the earliest native inhabitants up to present day, the people of the region have helped one another learn how to work with the foods at hand. And, as the area become more and more ethnically diverse, each culture added to the mix, creating an ever evolving landscape.

"All of the people who lived or settled in New Orleans... brought with them their sense of identity as defined by food. Clinging to old foodways is a common experience of immigrants everywhere... The city was the crucible filled with all those component cuisines and with raw ingredients. The mixture was transformed into a unique cuisine... This phenomenon-- the merging of cuisines and transformation into a new one-- is unusual in the history of the United States." (Willimas)

With each successive arrival of immigrants, the food palate was added to and oftentimes transformed. Each culture brought their own style of cooking and transfused new ideas into the old standards. Without this diverse mixing of foods and cooking styles, New Orleans would not be the incredible food haven it is today..

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But to Create New Cuisines you need both new items, and new ways of putting those items together.

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But to Create New Cuisines you need both new items, and new ways of putting those items together.

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Of course, not everyone who came to the area came willingly. The arrival of African slaves, while not a journey of choice, did influence the food of the region. New foods were introduced such as peanuts, watermelons, rice, okra, black-eyed peas, and beans. And the Africans were the driving force behind the emergence of “soul cooking based on their use of leftovers from the main house and simple ingredients destined to be discarded” (Folse).

"Each wave of explorers and immigrants brought new items that were often left in the new land, with the result that the region was constantly absorbing the bounty..." (Williams)

Similar to the Music scene and Religious rituals, New Orleans food has grown in numerous ways. Cajun and Creole cooking, Soul Food, King Cakes, and more. But I don't want to lead anyone astray here. There is some argument about where all these foods really originated. As Williams says, "Groups compete over the source of influences." But I would argue that since each group has contributed, it is impossible to name any one group as the founder of any cuisine.

Cuisines that might be argued over are dishes such as Jambalaya. A one pot meal of rice, vegetables, and meat, and/or seafood. Some say it originates from Spanish Pallela. But West Africa is also known for rice, meat, and vegetables dishes such as Jollof Rice that's made in Ghana. The point is, numerous cultures have dishes similar to Jambalaya, but in New Orleans these dishes merged into a distinctly new dish.

Another well know food of the south is the humble hush puppies. Its origins story is widely debated, but it is rumored to have begun around the time of the Civil War. One story that’s frequently told is balls of corn mush were fried and thrown to dogs to hush them. But, wherever, or however they originated they are delicious and are usually served with fried catfish.

For a link to a recipe for hush puppies, click below.

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(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

These hush puppies are made with self-rising cornmeal mix, along with sweet milk and finely chopped green onion.

The origin of the term "hush puppy" is unclear, though there is a popular story. Purportedly, after the Civil War, cooks would toss bits of cornmeal batter to dogs, saying, "Hush, puppies!" Another account claims they were named "hush" puppies because people would not want their neighbors to know they were eating such a humble food.

These delightful fried cornmeal dumplings are traditionally served with fried catfish.

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Deep Fried Southern Hush Puppies With Green Onion

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(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.) These hush puppies are made with self-rising cornmeal mix, along with sweet milk and finely chopped green onion. The origin of the term "hush puppy" is unclear, though there is a popular story.

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One of New Orleans most famous Chefs, Paul Prudhomme, said in his Introduction to “Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Louisiana Kitchen,” Two of my ancestors were among those Acadians who migrated from Nova Scotia to Louisiana. Some of their descendants settled around the area of Opelousas, where I was born” (Prudhomme).

Folse says that these Acadians quickly formed friendships with the Native Americans, Spanish, and Germans living in the region. And one can imagine how, with the help of the earlier inhabitants, they quickly became familiar with local foods.

From these new “Cajuns” (as they came to be known) came the concept of the “one pot meals.” Some examples of this are Gumbo and Jambalaya.

For a link to Paul Prudhomme's recipe for Cajun Seafood Gumbo with Andouille, click below.

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Paul Prudhomme's Cajun Seafood Gumbo with Andouille

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I love this recipe. It's actually our traditional Christmas dinner. A couple of tips to make it the old way: use nothing but fresh seafood; heads on the shrimp, live crabs, and lots of oyster liquor (juice); use fresh peppers, onions, and celery; make your own stock (the heads and oyster liquor go in it).

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When one thinks of New Orleans, one quickly thinks, Gumbo, or Jambalaya, but there's a lot more to the local cuisine than that.

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When one thinks of New Orleans, one quickly thinks, Gumbo, or Jambalaya, but there's a lot more to the local cuisine than that.

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Italians contributed their round loaves of bread with seeds on top called the Muff Loaf. This bread was used to make Muffaletta sandwiches, a New Orleans Icon.

Muffaletta's first appeared on the scene in the 1890s, which was earlier than the New Orleans Po-boy sandwich.

Modern Muffuletta’s usually have olive salad, mortadella, salami, ham and provolone. But even the humble sandwich has, at times, merged with other New Orleans staple foods. For instance at Parran’s you can get a Seafood Muffuletta with fried oysters, shrimp and catfish.

Love it or hate it, food just can’t help but get all mixed up in New Orleans.

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The Crawfish (Mud Bugs) Boil --Sucking Head and Pinching Tail

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The Crawfish (Mud Bugs) Boil --Sucking Head and Pinching Tail

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Nothing screams New Orleans like a good old Crawfish Boil. But eating crawfish in Louisiana is a long tradition.

"Crawfish, in season, were eaten by Native Americans." (Williams) And this is part of the "swamp floor pantry" that Chef Folse refers to.

Long loved by locals,  crawfish are "boiled in the shell at informal meals where the group would peel and eat crawfish on a table covered with newspaper." (Williams)

Iv'e enjoyed this experience in New Orleans bars where steaming mounds of crawfish can be enjoyed with a cold beer.

Sucking head and pinching tail is a - how to - for eating crawfish. The head is filled with yummy juices that one sucks out, and the tail is pinched to loosen the meat out of the shell.

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Well, were nearing the end of our journey through - how a cultural diaspora can become incredibly unique. But before you go why don't we enjoy one last cocktail.

Food, Music and Religion aren't the only things that have created New Orleans-centric phenomenons. Alcohol has a place in the mix too.

The Hurricane is a New Orleans cocktail invented during World War II at  Pat O’Brien’s, in the French Quarter. The cocktail is said to have resulted from an over-abundance of rum in the region. So the next time you find yourself riding out a storm, give one of these a try.

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New Orleans, a truly unique city in America, born of an incredible mixing of cultural diasporas.

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New Orleans, a truly unique city in America, born of an incredible mixing of cultural diasporas.

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In New Orleans you can experience how both diasporas and immigrants create new cultural treasures. We’ve looked at Music, Food, and Religious based Ceremonies. But these are not stand alone catagories. They merge and meld together on multiple levels. Mardi Gras is not just about Religion, music, and food also play important parts in the celebration. For what would Mardi Gras be without Marching Bands and King cake?

To Learn More about the Unique Culture of Louisiana Click Below

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Link to info on the Works I have Cited from in this article.

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Link to info on the Works I have Cited from in this article.