Discovering Cajun culture

TRAVEL

MELODIC TUNES, SPIRITED DANCE AND MIGHTY FINE FOOD ARE FOUND ALONG LOUISIANA'S MUSIC TRAIL

Louisiana. The name rolls off the tongue in a harmonious lilt that tickles the ear with a French-Creole twist. It also conjures up images of a unique and fascinating culture and lifestyle tied together in a passionate embrace of southern Louisiana music that locals call joie de vivre - the joy of living.

From the beginning, the hard-working people of southern Louisiana have insisted on playing music, for themselves or anyone willing to listen to lyrics sung in a Southern-Creole dialect with just a dash of recognizable English. It is in their hearts, begging to be shared, waiting to lift spirits beyond the hot-and-muggy weather and the long days attending to a land and sea that are often uncompromising. This unique music has a tale to tell. It is a means through which to express the essence of a historic lifestyle, and, best of all, it is music for dancing arm in arm with stylish dips and turns, and a spin or two for good luck.

Along the Louisiana Music Trail from Shreveport-Bossier to New Orleans, RVers can hear some of the finest fiddlers in the South and enjoy the Cajun froittoir (rub board). They'll also hear the prized Creole/Cajun accordion, most likely handmade by Marc Savoy, with its timeless zydeco (blues-influenced Cajun dance music) songs of joy and despair. These songs bring to mind misty, treelined bayous, stately plantation homes, lonely roadside cemeteries, weary fishing boats with faded names, earthy dance halls with steaming pots of bright-red crawfish, giggling children and dancing feet.

Ambitious RVers who desire to experience a huge slice of Americana, regional culture and the distinct music that originated in southern Louisiana can buckle up and begin the cruise in Shreveport-Bossier. There, they will experience a cultural gumbo, including descendants of American pioneers, African-Americans, French-Canadian exiles, German settlers, Native Americans and others.

The region's music, a reflection of its residents, is diverse and joyous, and includes 12bar blues, southland gospel, Southern rock'n'roll, swamp pop (a Louisiana take on zydeco) and jazz. Accordionlaced zydeco has its roots in the music of African-American slaves and early French and Spanish colonists, and has grown through an exchange of ideas with American country music. It is a mainstream art form in its own right, with a rollicking, syncopated sound.

Shreveport, some 317 miles northwest of New Orleans, was founded on the banks of the Red River in 1835. It lies across the river from the city of Bossier, and is the place where famed Municipal Auditorium legends, such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Hank Williams Sr., got their big breaks during the heyday of the popular Louisiana Hayride radio program that ran from 1948 to 1960. The dressing room Elvis used at the Municipal has been renovated and is open for tours by appointment.

Downtown, the Red River Entertainment District has hot spots such as the Sambuca Jazz Cafe, Java Blues, Sugarland and Polly Esther's. Every Sunday, the Ever Ready Gospel Singers croon in a blended four-part harmony, and other top-ranked gospel groups can be heard lifting the roofs off the Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, the little Union Baptist Church, St. Peters Baptist Church and the Antioch Baptist Church.

Drop in at Baci's Italian Restaurant for a set of blues music, or take a seat for more music at James Burton's Rock'n' Roll Cafe, the owner of which once played guitar with Elvis. Both rooms are popular with visitors of all ages. Some come to relive their youth while others, who never quite grew up, dance the night away.

A big bonus for RVers exploring Louisiana is the state's zest for festivals. Residents will use any excuse for a festival, including Mardi Gras, which Shreveport celebrates the last two weekends in February with more than 60 marching bands, decorated floats and enchanting costumes. But Mardi Gras is only the beginning of festival life.

With a long list of celebrations on the dashboard, RVers can check out other festivities, such as April's 10-day Holiday in Dixie, celebrating the Louisiana Purchase. The four-day Mudbug Madness Festival in May praises the crawfish with Cajun storytelling, dance contests and local and regional bands, such as Cookie and the Kingcakes with the Ever Ready Gospel Singers, Shreveport's ATrain and The Lightnin' Bugs.

Also in May, over Mother's Dayweekend, the Jazz and Gumbo Festival swings into action, and on Father's Day weekend in June, the Let the Good Times Roll Festival celebrates AfricanAmerican culture through its music, art and renowned cuisine. This two-day festival is a huge local favorite with an immense selection of jazz, blues, zydeco and gospel music.

If you're in the area in October, be sure to sample the eight-day Red River Revel. Considered among the top-20 art festivals in the United States, the Revel hosts more than 300,000 guests taking their pleasure from hundreds of the country's top artists, craftsmen, culinary masters and live bands.

For a splendid overview of the area, hop on the 35-passenger Spirit of the Red River and sail the tree-lined Red River past five large glittery paddlewheel gaming boats, including Harrah's Shreveport Casino. You'll also float past four bridges looming high and mighty on the horizon, including the old Railroad Swing Bridge and the Waddel AFrame Bridge, one of only two A-frame bridges in the country. An occasional alligator can be seen basking on the shore, along with several species of birds that seem indifferent to the dangerous water-moccasin snakes.

Driving five hours southwest to Lake Charles, you can get off the Interstate and enjoy the old north-south Shreveport/Lake Charles Highway 171, known as Cajun Country. The entire highway is lined with flea markets and signs reading: FRESH SHRIMP, CRAWFISH TAILS, HACKBERRY CRABS and COLD BEER.

Lake Charles, a river community and the festival capital of southwest Louisiana, has the second-largest Mardi Gras celebration in the state, a marvelous Mardi Gras museum, an historic district ideal for self-guided walking tours and a whopping 75 annual festivals. Local favorites include the Cajun Music and Food Festival, which takes place the third weekend in July, with continuous live Cajun music, Cajun dance performances and accordion contests.

A number of downtown venues offer live music, including the must-visit Rikenjak's Brew Pub, which is home to a band called Louisiana's Kingfish. Their unique blending of Cajun, rock'n'roll, zydeco and country music captures the essence of life in the Deep South, with fiddle players as agile as a Louisiana crab fisherman. If your music genes are calling, you might even be invited to try your hand at the Cajun rub board.

Lake Charles is also home to the Grammy-nominated Hackberry Ramblers, who play a toe-tapping blend of Cajun and Western swing, with a dash of Gulf Coast swamp pop. Playing since the 1930s, the Ramblers are billed as one of the oldest continuously working bands in the country.

Side trips are what RVing is all about, so don't miss a visit to "Louisiana's Outback," the Creole Nature Trail and the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, situated about 20 miles south of Sulphur. The 180-mile-long Creole Nature Trail AllAmerican Road, the only officially designated scenic byway in the state, begins at the Interstate 10 exit near Sulphur and loops through Cameron Parish to end in Lake Charles. The trail has been named among the top-40 bird-watching spots in North America, and offers numerous pull-offs for viewing.

Back on the music trail, the town of Eunice, about two hours east of Lafayette, sits in the heart of Acadiana in St. Landry Parish, affectionately called the Prairie Cajun Capital. Laying amid rice fields and crawfish ponds, Eunice has a splendid cultural center that also hosts musical and cooking demonstrations. Just next door, the Liberty Center presents various Cajun bands, and at the Cajun Music Hall of Fame and Museum, you can learn about the greats of Cajun music and the region's unique musical form. The Savoy Music Center, off Highway 190 East, is home to the great accordion maker Marc Savoy and his wife, Ann, and features Cajun jam sessions every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.

In late April, the city of Lafayette presents Festival International, one of the largest free music festivals in the world. Schedule permitting, this is a must-see. City officials close off a section of downtown and set up six stages, where everyone from Nathan & the Zydeco ChaChas to Grand Derangement - all the way from Nova Scotia - perform. The entire family can bring folding chairs and delight in the music they grew up with, which is so wonderfully expressive of America's musical heritage.

Across from the Lafayette Regional Airport, on the banks of the Vermilion River, is Vermilionville, a 23-acre CajunCreole Heritage Park, which depicts the culture, music and dance of the region between 1765 and 1890, along with an interpretative living-history walking tour of houses and cottages. On weekends, Cajun and zydeco bands heat up, along with daily cooking demonstrations. Admission is $8 for adults, $6.50 for seniors and $5 for ages 6 to 18. Children 6 and under get in free.

Before heading out of Lafayette to New Orleans, plan dinner at Prejean's Restaurant, two miles north of Interstate 10 on Interstate 49. The eatery, opened in 1980, has won 250 culinary awards in national competition for it

In New Orleans, an easy three-hour drive from Lafayette, the music, dance and culture of Louisiana come together with a boundless energy so unique that even the glitz of Las Vegas. Nevada has failed to duplicate it. Perhaps the mostEuropean of American cities, New Orleans has the feel of a rowdy and vibrant 1860s seaport town, where street entertainers abound, mystical voodoo shops flourish and music, art and dining are revered aspects of the city's exciting lifestyle.

The city nurtures sidewalk tap dancers, trumpet players who can hit high-C without missing a beat, prancing ladies swinging their parasols and their hips to the music, and tuba players in Jackson Square playing a song or more for a dollar or two.

Music reigns here, as do festivals. Two examples are the huge 12-stage New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, which takes place the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May, and the Satchmo Summer Fest at the beginning of August, celebrating Louis Armstrong, who was born and raised in New Orleans.

After spending a week or so on the roads of Louisiana, you might find the state's joie de vivre is difficult to capture. However, a CD or two picked up along the way will help keep the memories fresh and vivid. Louisiana is like that. TL

Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, (225) 342-8115, crt.state.la.us. Circle 205 on PEADER SERVICE CARD.

Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, (800) 551-8682, shreve port-bossier.org, louisianatravel.com. Circle 206 on READER SERVICE CARD.

Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau, (800) 456-7952, visit lakecharles.org, creolenaturetrail.org. Circle 207 on READER SERvICE CARD.

Copyright T L Enterprises, Inc. Mar 2003
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