Nina Darbonne
Dr. Carrie Hall
English Comp 1 1101-D355
19 March 2019
Creole
Growing up in Jackson Heights I’ve been surrounded by a diverse melting pot of cultures. Take a walk down 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue and you will be assaulted with the smell of spices that is heavy in the air. The store fronts convey the newest trends in Bollywood fashion. It’s not uncommon to see groups of monks dressed in orange robes walking down the streets. As you wander a few blocks over, Mariachi music can be heard mingling in with blaring announcements from La mega noventa y siete punto nueve. The smells wafting through the air comes from pop-up taco stands, food trucks, shopping carts, you name it and we have it converted into a food dispensing vehicle. It doesn’t stop there though we have a further break down in our realm of Hispanic cultures, because everyone knows in my neighborhood they can’t all be lumped together. This is painfully apparent with the different Latin pride parades that block off Northern Blvd damn near every Sunday during the Summer. Ecuadorian, Colombian, El Salvadorian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and last but not least Dominican. The Spanish community is probably the largest component in Jackson Heights at the moment. However, we do still have our tiny group of hipsters and the power of their influence is apparent in the solitary Starbucks that sprang up a few years back on 37th Avenue amidst the slew of Spanish bakeries.
My family is from Louisiana, but we feel quite cozy in Jackson Heights. My grandma always said the myriad of different cultures reminded her of home back in New Orleans. No there aren’t revolving Latin pride parades and richly Indian spice scented areas down South. However, down South the mixture of cultures is more a blast from the past that is still prevalent today in the Creole and Cajun populations.
Personally, I have family that falls on both sides of the Creole-Cajun fence. I tend to identify more with my Creole roots; I’ve spent vast majority of my life with this side of my family. To me “Creole” is having a multicultural diversity while being unified at the same time as a group of people, having a rich history that ties back into the settlement of the United States.
Some of the rich history of the Creoles is apparent in the traditions like Mardi Gras celebrations. Fat Tuesday parades and festivities of Mardi Gras are an all day event in the French Quarter. I remember one year my grandmother and I went back to New Orleans for Mardi Gras week. On Fat Tuesday, we set out early and camped out on the section of Canal Street that intersects with the French Quarter, decked out in our gold, green, and purple sweaters. We clapped and cheered as we watched the “baby dolls” dance and strut in the parade. I loved watching the ruffled coordinated costumes, rhythm streamers, and painted faces of the women dressed for the Zulu Parade. My grandma’s favorite is always the elaborate Indian costumes that take the seamstresses an entire year to design and pull together.
By the time late afternoon rolled around, we were famished. We asked one of the parade participants if he knew a good spot to eat in the area. The man decked out in Zulu skeleton regalia replied, “Well if you looking for good food and people who gonna do right by you, take yourselves down to Mena’s Palace over on Chartres and Iberville. They got real Creoles in the kitchen, so you know you can’t go wrong in there.” We made our way over to the restaurant. The mouthwatering medley of Creole spices, seafood, and jambalaya was heavy air as soon as we entered the restaurant. My grandma wasted no time finding a spot at the oyster bar and downed half a dozen raw oysters with a splash of hot sauce. I decided on a tamer, cooked alternative for food, the shrimp po-boy. The sandwich was amazing on so many levels from the spicy tangy tastes to the variety of textures experienced in each bite. The crunch of the French bread, juicy tomatoes, the creamy remoulade sauce, crisp lettuce and pickles, and last but certainly not least the highlight of the sandwich, the seasoned, battered, deep fried shrimp. Hands down the best sandwich I’ve ever had to this day. Before wrapping up the day, we walked over to the Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee.
Now a brief cultural history: New Orleans, Louisiana commonly referred to as “NOLA” by many natives of the region; has a rich history that affects the makeup of the culture to this day. Creole people of NOLA are the result of a melting pot of several cultures. The term “creole” ties its roots to “the sixteenth century to identify descendants of French, Spanish, or Portuguese settlers living in the West Indies and Latin America.” (Countries and their Cultures) The actual genesis of the word “creole” may have Spanish or Portuguese roots. One theory being, “the word Creole comes from the Spanish word, criollo, which roughly translates to native or local. People used this term to describe things that were part of the New World during the time that the Spanish and French controlled Louisiana.” (WiseGeek) However, another possibility is “the term ‘Creole’ derives from the Portuguese word crioulo, which means a slave born in the master’s household.” (Countries and their Cultures)
Another prominent group of people found in western Louisiana are the Cajuns. The difference between Creoles and Cajuns revolves around migration history of the two groups. Creoles are essentially the product of the merging of several different cultures as Louisiana was colonized. However, Cajuns are said to have travelled from Canada and settled in Louisiana. Another subtle difference is the language utilized by either group. “Although both types of people use French as a basis for their speech, Creoles rely more heavily on other languages.” (WiseGeek) Additionally, most Cajuns are Catholic; while many Creoles practice Catholicism, elements from influencing cultures are often present. This is evident as “some people… lean toward Native American spirituality, using medicinal healing. Others focus on folk religions from Africa or the Caribbean. In some cases, individuals mix a little bit of everything together, using an eclectic combination of prayer, voodoo, charms, candles and ‘wild’ church services that emphasize being ‘possessed’ by the spirit.” (WiseGeek) Wasn’t that enlightening and refreshing.
Creoles are more of a “self-identified” group based on ancestral roots, as opposed to “many other ethnic groups in the United States… that immigrated from a specific country.” (Caver) “The word first came into common usage in the United States after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Louisianans of French and Spanish descent adopted the term to differentiate themselves from the Americans who were moving into the area in increasing numbers.” (Caver) The term Creole is still prevalent to this day in the United States as the Creole culture continues to thrive. Some notable modern public figures that have Creole ancestry are: “rapper Ice-T (1958–) is the son of a Creole woman, Drummer Sheila E. (1957–) also has a Creole mother. Pop singers Beyoncé Knowles (1981–) and Solange Knowles (1986–) are descendants of a Louisiana Creole grandmother. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (1954–) is of Creole descent on her father’s side.” (Caver)
Works Cited:
“Creoles.” Countries and Their Cultures, www.everyculture.com/multi/Bu-Dr/Creoles.html.
Hobby, Jessica, and Bronwyn Harris. “What Is the Difference Between Creole and Cajun?” WiseGEEK, Conjecture Corporation, 4 Feb. 2019, www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-creole-and-cajun.htm.
Caver, Helen Bush, and Mary T. Williams. “Creoles.” Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, edited by Thomas Riggs, 3rd ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2014, pp. 567-576. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3273300055/GVRL?u=cuny_nytc&sid=GVRL&xid=ce3df0c6. Accessed 7 Mar. 2019.
