At this point in my life, I feel comfortable saying that I’m incredibly well traveled. The consequence of making such a declaration is that I will often be asked, “What is your favorite place in the world?” Well, I haven’t been everywhere in the world, but I’ve been to 25 countries (and counting), as well as dozens upon dozens of cities. While most travelers say, “Ugh, I hate the question of my favorite place,” I’m not afraid of it. Unabashedly, I say: My favorite place in the world is New Orleans. Hands down and no contest.
This Thanksgiving will mark my fifth time in the Big Easy (also my good friend’s college nickname.) I’ve been scanning through my photos from 2014 to now, and it’s so interesting to see the growth of my love affair with New Orleans over the years. Each visit further stoked the smoldering flames of my passion for the place.
There is nothing pretentious about New Orleans. I find that even its most exclusive and upscale of institutions are welcoming. New Orleans is admirable in the lengths it takes to preserve its inclusive culture, as well as the uniqueness of its identity. While many cities are chameleons, trying to be like haughty Paris, trendy New York, or elegant Rome, New Orleans knows it is not those places. It does not try to be. Possibly because it knows that it’s better than those places.
The First Friendly Face You Will Meet in New Orleans
Each time I visit New Orleans, I find myself amazed by the taxi cab drivers. Every single one has mastered the art of conversation, and for 15 minutes to an hour, I get a “no holds barred” look into the life of a complete stranger. On my most recent trip down to the Crescent City, I met a refugee and former attorney from Venezuela. He indulged his story of all of the ways that he was pursued by the Venezuelan government for his sedition by way of speaking out against corruption.
Another time, I had a cab driver pass me her phone. She asked me to watch videos of the style of dancing she does in her free time and during Mardi Gras season performances. Yeah, try striking up a conversation with a New York City cabbie about dance moves and see how that goes.
Loved by the Living, Dead, and Damned
I love the way the historical, intricate Spanish architecture and bold colors of creole cottages mixes with the undeniably palpable feeling of residual “other-worldy” energy lingering from the Yellow Fever days to create a unique ambiance. Strolling through the city, it feels as though the people who once lived there decades ago (and have since passed) never really left. One is never alone in New Orleans, even when he or she is the only person on a block.
In this way, the city turns even the biggest skeptics of ghosts into believers. The magnitude of these souls lingers heavily. In addition, there is an air of mysticism in the city; one sees it as he passes the tarot card readers, wanders into Boutique du Vampire for some herbs, and examines a dizzying array of voodoo dolls in VooDoo Authentica.
The city is so damn eccentric. Let’s start with the fact that the first inhabitants, Native Peoples aside, were French convicts and prostitutes who traded prison sentences for freedom if they agree to build up a city upon the stinking, bug infested, disease ridden, land. Naturally, when the aforementioned are your land developers, an outcrop of casinos, brothels, and bars are what gets built.
Once you understand that bit of history, everything else falls into place. There is something not disturbing, but poignant rather, about the tales of The Big Easy’s history of Storyville prostitutes, coffin girls, madams, psychics, artists, mafia members, druggies, writers, and Bohemians.
A Melting Pot
As much as New Orleans is a tale of wantonness, it is also, as Tennessee Williams once said, “an easy intermingling of the races.” In this city there is a happy melting of people simply not found in most places within the United States.
There are Creole people of mixed descent, people of Native, African, Vietnamese, Haitian, and Spanish heritage. There are French Cajuns and a true Francophonie society, where French culture and language is preserved. French immersion schools exist here.
The Essentials: Food and Music
Nowhere in the world has better food than New Orleans. Yes, you can find your share of gumbo and jambalaya. But the city also procures the best hummus I’ve ever had. It churns out exceptional bahn mi and pho thanks to its Vietnamese population. A large part of acclimating to the New Orleans culture is holding tight to your mother culture and then sharing it with the city. What is more beautiful than that?
Just as delicious, savory, and fulfilling is the music of the city. As essential as water and oxygen, music is present at all vital passages of life. New Orleans is the city of Second Lines and jazz funerals. Everything — everything — is celebrated and expressed with music. And what an array of music that the city boasts! From classic sounds like jazz and blues to unique tunes like Zydeco and Bounce, New Orleans has it all.
New Orleans is a complete sensory experience. It even appeals to one’s sixth sense. The city is surprising. It is consuming. It is ardent. New Orleans is the only city within the United States that delivers a gut punch of culture shock in a way that is utterly transformative. I don’t believe that anybody can visit New Orleans and not leaving feeling more cultured, more creative, more open, and more rattled.
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