MetaFilter posts tagged with Louisiana and neworleans

Tremé

nola — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:59:04 -0800

Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans premieres Thursday, January 29 on PBS. Faubourg Tremé is considered the oldest black neighborhood in America, the origin of the southern civil rights movement and the birthplace of jazz. Trailer for Faubourg Tremé

The Isleños

Effigy2000 — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:12:53 -0800

The Isleños are said to be a dying traditional American subculture. Descendants of Canary Island immigrants of Louisiana, the name Isleños was given to them to distinguish them from Spanish mainlanders, known as "peninsulares." But in Louisiana, the name evolved from a category to an identity. For a long time they were one of those rare subcultures that found a way to maintain a living tradition as the world around them modernised by carving out a livelihood as crabbers and 'shrimpers'. Then Katrina hit and the wetlands, which were central to the Isleños identity, essentially dissapeared. Despite the blow to their economy, they still have their songs and annual fiestas, evidence of a strong culture which binds their community together, and their rebuilding following Katrina demonstrated how strong that sense of identity and culture can be. So perhaps the Isleños shouldn't be written off just yet, then. After all, as Isleño Irvan Perez says, "This is home. Where else would we go?"

"How do the tacos help gumbo?"

ColdChef — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:16:28 -0800

"How do the tacos help gumbo?" Hold the tacos, New Orleans says. In yet another pig-ignorant move in Post-Katrina New Orleans, local politicians have decided to destroy the booming taco-truck business that is feeding the workers (and plenty of the locals) who are rebuilding the city. Blame racism, blame taxes, blame immigration politics: A hundred years ago this line of reasoning would have banned the muffulettas and poor-boys that those invading hordes of Sicilians were using to corrupt our youth.

The Best Laid Plans

homunculus — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:52:48 -0800

The Best Laid Plans: The Story of How the Government Ignored Its Own Gulf Coast Hurricane Plans. A new report from CREW describes FEMA's plan to respond to a hurricane of Katrina’s magnitude and its subsequent failure to implement that plan. [Via C&L.]

Last chance for Southeast Louisiana

homunculus — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:15:22 -0800

Last Chance. "It took the Mississippi River 6,000 years to build the Louisiana coast. It took man (and natural disasters) 75 years to destroy it. Experts agree we have 10 years to act before the problem is too big to solve." [Via First Draft.]

Killing Brings New Orleans to its Bloodied Knees

ColdChef — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 18:47:27 -0800

Killings Bring New Orleans to its Bloodied Knees In the sixth New Orleans murder in less than 24 hours, Helen Hill was killed and her husband (who co-founded a sliding-scale doctors' office to serve the impoverished community) was shot in their home Thursday about 5:30 a.m., said police, who found the bleeding man kneeling at the door of the couple's Faubourg Marigny home, clutching their 2-year-old son.

Louis Gottschalk

Gyan — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 17:22:54 -0800

Louis Moreau Gottschalk - an unjustly forgotten American composer of classical music

New Orleans Commencement Speech

ColdChef — Mon, 15 May 2006 20:08:15 -0800

"The water, it came to your school. The gasoline, chemicals, sewage and blood came to your doorstep. It settled into the ground of this courtyard where we now gather." Chris Rose's commencement speech at Ursuline Academy in New Orleans.

Nueva Orleans

ColdChef — Tue, 09 May 2006 10:35:05 -0800

Nueva Orleans Before Katrina, Hispanics accounted for 3 percent of New Orleans’ population, with just 1,900 Mexicans showing up in the 2004 Census. No one knows for certain how many new ones have arrived, but estimates put the number between 10,000 and 50,000.

Mascots helping Mascots

ColdChef — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 20:07:48 -0800

Mascots helping Mascots High schools across America have witnessed the devastation brought about by several recent natural disasters, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An outpouring of sympathy and concern, and a desire to help, have come forth from high schools wanting to assist those in need. To enable schools to help other schools, the National Federation of State High School Associations has initiated a fundraising program called the Mascot Adoption Program.

Photographer's account of Katrina

Pacheco — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 22:45:58 -0800

When the levees broke, he looked for was his camera and a boat. This Times-Picayune photographer tells his story of what happened next.

the cavalry is coming, the cavalry is coming

madamjujujive — Sun, 04 Sep 2005 09:50:16 -0800

"The guy who runs this building I'm in, emergency management, he's responsible for everything. His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, "Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?" And he said, "Yeah, Mama, somebody's coming to get you. Somebody's coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody's coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody's coming to get you on Friday." And she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night." Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish in New Orleans damns FEMA on Tim Russett this morning. (WMV clip)

little somalia?

brookish — Sat, 03 Sep 2005 19:41:44 -0800

"Little Somalia" is how The Army Times has characterized post-Katrina New Orleans. And this isn't about race?

looka! surviving New Orleans musicians

madamjujujive — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 07:19:01 -0800

Longtime Mefi member chuq offers a tiny respite from the misery with his report on the survival of many of Louisiana's beloved musicians, including the good news that Fats Domino was rescued from his roof. More coverage here and here. (more)

Photos from Katrina's wake

delfuego — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 15:55:26 -0800

Some of the best still images of what remains in Hurricane Katrina's wake are up over at the Washington Post; there are a lot of compelling shots there that put into perspective the horror of the situation. If you're looking for a well-edited group of photos that convey what the Gulf coast has faced over the past few days, and will face in the coming months, this is it; I'm in awe of the photographers that continue to work hard to document the disaster.

Louisiana National Guard

Pretty_Generic — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 13:46:52 -0800

Louisiana National Guard radio [ShoutCAST MPEG]

Professor Longhair

madamjujujive — Thu, 19 Dec 2002 19:24:42 -0800

"Picasso of keyboard funk" - Professor Longhair would be 84 today if he were still alive. His distinctive meld of boogie woogie, blues, funk and Latin makes for piano that is quintessentially New Orleans...Tipitinas, one of the more famous local music bars, took its name from his signature song. "Fess" was a seminal influence on such musical greats as James Booker, Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, Doctor John and Marcia Ball, one of my current favorites. You can hear a few Fess samples from Crawfish Fiesta, arguably his best recording, issued just after he died in 1980. He was inducted in the R&R Hall of Fame as an early influencer in 1993. Happy birthday, Professor!