Bonjour à tous et à toutes! After an extremely hectic couple of weeks, the French studies blog is back with an overdue look at some French culture right here in the United States. A couple of weeks ago Carnaval and Mardi Gras celebrations took place all over the world, one giant party before the forty days of Lenten fasting. One of the most famous takes place in New Orleans, Louisiana, a shatterbelt of cultures: French, English, Spanish, Caribbean, just to name a few. Louisiana may not be a part of the Francophonie, but French language and culture have left their marks on Louisiana's dialect, cuisine, and music.
The area that became the state of Louisiana was passed around from one European imperial power to another since it was first claimed for Spain in 1541 by Hernando de Soto. The French took over shortly after that, then at one point the British, then Napoleon, who sold the territory to the United States. During the Civil War the state experimented with their own republic before joining the Confederacy. Louisiana's population is as diverse as its history: Spanish and German settlers, English planters, Hungarian oyster farmers, free blacks, and French aristocrats fleeing the Haitian revolution all found their way to Louisiana. In the 1750s Great Britain, then at war with France, demanded that French residents of Acadia (now Nova Scotia) renounce Catholicism and swear loyalty to the British crown. Those that refused were exiled, and eventually settled in the bayous of southern Louisiana. Through all of this diversity the French influence has been the predominant one in Louisiana; for example, the Napoleonic Code is still used in the state courts. (See http://www.louisiana.gov/Explore/About_Louisiana/ for more about Louisiana's history and government.)
Cajun (from the word Acadian) culture has evolved over the centuries into an incredible hybrid of all these influences. Although it is beginning to die out, many people still speak Cajun, a French dialect infused with bits of English. Check out short clip from Louisiana Story; if you understand all of it, you have a better ear than me.
More recently Disney brought Cajun accents into the mainstream with Raymond, the Cajun firefly from The Princess and the Frog; that little guy is probably one of Disney's best supporting characters, fo sho y'all. Fortunately Youtube is full of videos that record the Cajun dialect; this old grandpa is my favorite.
The bayous of Louisiana offer a multitude of delicacies to the adventurous gourmand, and Cajuns have taken advantage and created some mouthwatering dishes. I'm no expert, but the good folks at Gumbo Pages are. They've compiled all kinds of recipes to make your own creole spice mixtures and stock, not to mention Cajun staples like gumbo, which they describe as "the Rolls-Royce of soups". While you may not be able to find alligator tail or crawfish at a café in France, not all Cajun food is unique to the bayou. Beignets are popular both in Louisiana (especially during Mardi Gras) and back in the Hexagon. You can take your pick from Paula Deen's version (no butter, can you believe it?), or this lemony version from Marmiton.
Now that you have some new recipes to try, how about a little music to go with them? Zydeco music is wonderfully illustrative of the hybrid nature of Cajun culture. Banjos, guitars, bass, and fiddle are all typical of Southern music, while the washboard adds a percussive zest to zydeco that sets it apart from bluegrass or folk music. What really makes zydeco special, though, is the accordion; combine all of that with Cajun lyrics, and you get a sound unique to the bayou. A few years ago Sesame Street did a little Zydeco 101, and of course zydeco was featured in the Princess and the Frog.
Here are a few selections from more bona fide zydeco groups.
On va s'revoir!
