{"id":89850,"date":"2025-02-15T14:41:45","date_gmt":"2025-02-15T14:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/american-history\/one-more-love-letter-to-the-big-easy\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T14:41:45","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T14:41:45","slug":"one-more-love-letter-to-the-big-easy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=89850","title":{"rendered":"One More Love Letter to the Big Easy"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

[Last
\nmonth I got to return to my
\nfavorite American city<\/a> for the 2025 MLA Convention<\/a>. So for
\nthis year\u2019s Valentine\u2019s Day series I\u2019ve offered some love letters to what makes
\nNew Orleans so unique, leading up to this special tribute post!]<\/p>\n

On a few
\nmore magical moments my wife and I experienced on our January visit. <\/span><\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>A Food Find: It will come as no surprise to
\nanyone with even a passing familiarity with New Orleans that we ate very well
\nthroughout the trip. But while that was true of the expected spots, especially
\nthose throughout the Quarter and environs, what really makes NOLA so delicious
\nis the culinary perfection awaiting in even seemingly out-of-the-way spots. Probably
\nthe best meal we had on the whole trip was at one such spot, Blue Oak BBQ<\/a>; not gonna say anything else,
\nother than go if you get the chance!<\/span><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>Musical Moments: We experienced plenty of planned
\nmoments of musical magic on our trip, including a jazz cruise on the city\u2019s
\nonly working steamboat (the Natchez<\/i><\/a>)
\nand a jazz concert at the legendary Preservation
\nHall<\/a>. But my favorite music (or least music-adjacent) moment was the kind
\nof spontaneous one you can only find in NOLA\u2014I was buying a copy of Wendell
\nPierce\u2019s The
\nWind in the Reeds<\/a><\/i> in a used bookstore, and the employee told me that
\nhis uncle is none other than Deacon
\nJohn Moore<\/a>, the wonderful jazz musician who guest-starred as Pierce\u2019s
\ntrombone teacher on Treme<\/i>!<\/span><\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>Great Galleries: For whatever reason, on my
\nearlier visits to New Orleans I hadn\u2019t spent much time in art galleries, but
\nthis time we were drawn to multiple of them as we walked the French Quarter,
\nencountering works by profoundly talented artists in the process. I don\u2019t
\nremember any specifics, but that\u2019s at least partly my point\u2014these weren\u2019t
\nplanned or pre-scheduled visits to places or works we already knew, they were
\njust impromptu walk-ins that gifted us with beautiful art in compelling spaces.
\nI recommend you do the same if you get the chance!<\/span><\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>A Moving Museum: By far the most moving
\nexperience we had on our trip was another entirely unplanned one: not long
\nafter our initial arrival, we followed signs to The
\nHistoric New Orleans Collection<\/a>, a museum in the heart of the Quarter. Everything
\ntherein was striking and impressive, but I\u2019d highlight two exhibits in
\nparticular: the absolutely heartbreaking Captive State: Louisiana and
\nthe Making of Mass Incarceration<\/a>; and the evocative Prospect.6: Gesture to Home<\/a>,
\nartist Didier William\u2019s<\/a>
\ncontribution to the city-wide Prospect
\nNew Orleans<\/a> project. <\/span><\/p>\n

5)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span>A Missed but Still Meaningful Second Line: The
\nSunday during our visit featured a
\nSecond Line<\/a>, a unique part of New Orleans culture that I\u2019ve never gotten to
\nsee in person (despite loving every one featured on Treme<\/i>). Unfortunately
\nthe timing was too tight with our Preservation Hall concert, and after waiting
\nfor a while to catch a glimpse of the Line, we had to leave before it arrived.
\nBut every part of the experience still felt meaningful, from walking through Armstrong
\nPark<\/a> and Treme to get to our viewing spot, to waiting out there with the
\nfolks preparing food and playing music and adding their own contributions to
\nthe day and city. In its own very real and very moving way, one of my favorite
\nmoments ever in my favorite city (and with my favorite person)!<\/span><\/p>\n

Anti-favorites
\nseries starts Monday,<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben<\/span><\/p>\n

PS. What
\ndo you think? Cities you\u2019d love on? <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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