Bienvenue à la Louisiane où nous parlons français! (Welcome to Louisiana where we speak French). At least a dialect of the French language which has been groomed over generations of Parisian, Canadienne, Haitian, Spanish, and Afro American French speakers. Their dialect has become known as Créole - French with a Caribbean twist!

So where does Cajun come from? The Cajun People are the French Canadian settlers who were ruthlessly deported from Acadia in 1755 by the British (who then called it Nova Scotia). It is indeed a tale of woe. The deportees who made it to Louisiana by 1764 were known as the Acadians, but with such eclectic differences in language, the "Cadians" became "Cajuns" which makes sense if you are here trying to understand what anyone is saying to you!

We have in fact entered the state with the most "colourful past" of all 50 States. Since 1541 Louisiana has been governed under 10 different flags. It was at one time considered the Paris of the Americas. However, in 1803 President Thomas Jefferson negotiated with Napoleon I for the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson acquired 828,000 square miles (a mere 529,920,000 acres) for 15 million dollars (2.8 cents per acre USD!). The land mass was from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Border. General Horatio Gates told Jefferson on July 18, 1803, "Let the land rejoice, for you have bought Louisiana for a song."

So is there any wonder Louisiana claims, "We enjoy an embarrassment of riches in musical talent"? In 1915 the name "jazz" was given to the indigenous music of New Orleans. I can't wait to hear real Jazz, Cajun, Zydeco, Swamp Pop, and Blues, during Mardi Gras next week! (Wish you were here Dad! Eli played a washtub-bass today.)