New Orleans
Cajun or Creole
02/08/23 19:12 Filed in: Culture
If you go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras or other reasons, or spend some time in Louisiana you will hear the terms Cajun or Creole. What is the difference?
The French founded New Orleans in 1718, naming it for the Duke of Orleans. At that time, the term “Creole” referred to non-Indigenous people born in colonized countries of the Americas. This was the era of enslavement, so early on, the term was exclusively for white people. In New Orleans, that meant the children of the white French ruling class.
While “Creole” is geographically associated with “Cajun,” they are not the same. Everywhere around Louisiana, you’ll also hear about Cajun food and music, but this word derives from les Acadiens, the name for the French-speaking people who lived along the eastern coast of Canada, then a French colony. However, when the British conquered Acadia in the 1700s, renaming it Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the French (les Acadiens) were pushed out.
Some of les Acadiens went back to France, and others went to the French Caribbean. But the Spanish, who had just acquired French-speaking Louisiana, sent emissaries inviting them to come to Louisiana and help fend off the rival British colonists.
The new arrivals didn’t have the means to join the established class of French in New Orleans or the plantation owners. They mixed with the Indigenous people and free Blacks and spread throughout the south, mainly near water, in swamplands, along levees and bayous, and on the coastal marshes.
Les Acadiens turned into “Cajuns,” and these people settled largely in rural areas and retained a distinct culture from the New Orleans-based Creoles. Food is, naturally, a major distinguishing factor in any culture. Two simple ways to distinguish between a Cajun and Creole dish: Cajuns rarely use tomatoes and their food is spicier. A Cajun jambalaya, the Louisiana version of paella, is brown, not red, like the Creole style. Many Cajuns still speak a nonstandard form of French, but it is different from Louisiana Creole.
The French founded New Orleans in 1718, naming it for the Duke of Orleans. At that time, the term “Creole” referred to non-Indigenous people born in colonized countries of the Americas. This was the era of enslavement, so early on, the term was exclusively for white people. In New Orleans, that meant the children of the white French ruling class.
While “Creole” is geographically associated with “Cajun,” they are not the same. Everywhere around Louisiana, you’ll also hear about Cajun food and music, but this word derives from les Acadiens, the name for the French-speaking people who lived along the eastern coast of Canada, then a French colony. However, when the British conquered Acadia in the 1700s, renaming it Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, the French (les Acadiens) were pushed out.
Some of les Acadiens went back to France, and others went to the French Caribbean. But the Spanish, who had just acquired French-speaking Louisiana, sent emissaries inviting them to come to Louisiana and help fend off the rival British colonists.
The new arrivals didn’t have the means to join the established class of French in New Orleans or the plantation owners. They mixed with the Indigenous people and free Blacks and spread throughout the south, mainly near water, in swamplands, along levees and bayous, and on the coastal marshes.
Les Acadiens turned into “Cajuns,” and these people settled largely in rural areas and retained a distinct culture from the New Orleans-based Creoles. Food is, naturally, a major distinguishing factor in any culture. Two simple ways to distinguish between a Cajun and Creole dish: Cajuns rarely use tomatoes and their food is spicier. A Cajun jambalaya, the Louisiana version of paella, is brown, not red, like the Creole style. Many Cajuns still speak a nonstandard form of French, but it is different from Louisiana Creole.
Comments
Finishing Up
15/11/15 22:50 Filed in: Interests
Not much to say for today. The conference was done for the day at noon. I grabbed two beignets in the hotel lobby. Just out of the fryer and with powdered sugar. Karen took us out to our hotel and along the way we had lunch. Dinner next door at VooDoo BBQ and Grill. It was a good place to eat. I'd recommend it. Three little kittens outside waiting for leftovers. I gave them part of my chicken pieces. Sad bunch.
More Democrats
11/11/15 10:48 Filed in: Travel
While staying with the Becnels, we do get entertained in the morning by the gathering of greedy, needy for food raccoons that come down from the trees. As Tim calls them so aptly, The Democrats.
Off to NOLA
10/11/15 22:45 Filed in: Travel
We stayed overnight at the Shilo Inn and caught a very early flight to NOLA (or Covington) to see our friends, Tim and Karen Becnel. They were so good at letting us visit them and stay for 2 nights. We had a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant for supper. Good appetizers, drink, and food.
Central Grocery
13/11/15 10:43 Filed in: Interests
Part of the fun of getting a muffuletta sandwich is to visit Central Grocery right down in the French Quarter and near the open market. Full of food items to buy. They are so busy selling at lunch that the sandwiches are ready to go and the place is busy. See the line in this photo.
Muffuletta Sandwich
12/11/15 22:40 Filed in: Interests
Before the conference started, we made a quick trip to Central Grocery so Karen and I could share a muffuletta sandwich. A must for my trip to NOLA. Yum, their olive salad.
Follow the Leader to Arnaud's
14/11/15 22:38 Filed in: Interests
Tonight we had the ABVP Awards Dinner and the treat of following a festive New Orleans dressed woman who lead us to Arnaud's for dinner. Kim Buck as President was dressed up and had boas too. A nice evening among people.
Creole Culture
02/09/14 20:39 Filed in: Interests
I have enjoyed my trips to the city of New Orleans. It is an interesting place to visit and see a different life style. One photographer/writer has chronicled how the Creole culture that helped create part of New Orleans and its look can also be found in Cuba and other parts of decaying Latin America. A look at how that is through his lens.
“While it actually resembles no other city upon the face of the earth,” wrote Lafcadio Hearn of New Orleans, “it owns suggestions of towns in Italy, and in Spain, of cities in England and in Germany, of seaports in the Mediterranean, and of seaports in the tropics.” There’s no better illustration of this than the photographs of Richard Sexton. For four decades Sexton has been playing a transcontinental game of Concentration, pinballing between New Orleans and the cities of the Creole diaspora—Havana, Quito, Cartagena, Cap-Haïtien—documenting resonances in architecture and style. His photographs have now been collected in the gorgeous Creole World: Photographs of New Orleans and the Latin Caribbean Sphere, and are on display this fall in a free exhibition at the Historic New Orleans Collection.
“While it actually resembles no other city upon the face of the earth,” wrote Lafcadio Hearn of New Orleans, “it owns suggestions of towns in Italy, and in Spain, of cities in England and in Germany, of seaports in the Mediterranean, and of seaports in the tropics.” There’s no better illustration of this than the photographs of Richard Sexton. For four decades Sexton has been playing a transcontinental game of Concentration, pinballing between New Orleans and the cities of the Creole diaspora—Havana, Quito, Cartagena, Cap-Haïtien—documenting resonances in architecture and style. His photographs have now been collected in the gorgeous Creole World: Photographs of New Orleans and the Latin Caribbean Sphere, and are on display this fall in a free exhibition at the Historic New Orleans Collection.
Speaking for Myself
27/06/14 20:41 Filed in: Travel
Actually, I am not speaking just for myself and really speaking to the CFA Delegate’s in Winn’s behalf. Glenn Olah is there and will follow me on the podium. After the talk, I was done and able to head over to get our rental car, have lunch with Marybeth before we headed to Covington LA to see Karen and Tim. Interesting riding over the long causeway bridge across Lake Pontchartrain. A lot of growth and people found in this area and roads are pretty congested. Many moved here after Hurricane Katrina and away from New Orleans.
Symposium Day
26/06/14 22:31 Filed in: Travel
Well, the big symposium day has arrived for Winn. We also had our Zoetis/Winn grant review in the morning. A jam packed day of details and work though it all went well right up and through the great dinner at the Red Fish Grill on Bourbon St. I got all the audio setup and Bob was videographer again. Logistics were a bit difficult for the Symposium room with the food, water, and drinks yet all got said and done in the end. Here is one speaker, Dr. Philip Fox, speaking on HCM in cats.
Meetings and Prints
25/06/14 08:22 Filed in: Travel
Since I am now in charge of meeting logistics for Winn, my day was spent making sure of the board meeting room availability and that all our packages have arrived for the Symposium the next day. I made sure to stop and greet Jamie Perry as she holds the “Winnie Marchin’ In” print for sale. We hope it is a big fundraiser for Winn and a seller for her.
Off to New Orleans
24/06/14 20:17 Filed in: Travel
Headed off early this morning to New Orleans for the Winn Feline Foundation annual meeting and Symposium. Our flight was through Houston on United. A day of thunderstorms. As our flight left the gate to taxi out in Houston, we had a thunderstorm pass right overhead. There was a one hour ground stop and delay taking off due to this. We arrived in New Orleans at the leading edge of a thunderstorm with lightning all around and over Lake Pontchartrain. A bit of a bumpy ride down and a fast, “hot” landing. Good to get into the Big Easy.
