http://www.nola.com/


Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The Marsalis Family. Neville Brothers. Dr. John.

I can hear one of the parade songs "Feet don't fail me now, feet don't fail me now."

Marie Laveau. Louis Christophe Duminy de Glapion. Luisah Teish.

Jambalaya. And always lagniappe.*

So many documentaries seen. Of Black Indians preparing their Mardi Gras amazing outfits. Of Spy Boy and Flag Boy. Beads beads beads.

Saints march.

I've been told of the food and the smells, the history, the energy, the mysteries. Listened to recorded music, read books, gazed at photos, learned rootwork and hoodoo.

I never made it to New Orleans. I was gonna. Predestined that I'd wander through the Big Easy, planning to mark a red brick dust x somewhere sacred.


*
"Lagniappe derives from New World Spanish la ñapa, “the gift,” and ultimately from Quechua yapay, “to give more.” The word came into the rich Creole dialect mixture of New Orleans and there acquired a French spelling. It is still used in the Gulf states, especially southern Louisiana, to denote a little bonus that a friendly shopkeeper might add to a purchase. By extension, it may mean “an extra or unexpected gift or benefit.”

http://www.bartleby.com/61/80/L0018000.html