Uncle Manuel Perez
I was in high school, and had just joined the band and selected my instrument – the trumpet – when learned that Manuel, my father’s uncle, had been a trumpet player, and a very influential one , at that.
read moreVisiting Natchez, Mississippi
An easy drive from New Orleans, Natchez, MS offers a perfect getaway with river views and the nation’s largest stock of antebellum homes.
read moreVisiting the Whitney Plantation
I returned to River Road this past weekend to spend an aptly cloudy afternoon visiting the Whitney Plantation, the United States’ only plantation dedicated to the enslaved.
read moreA Visit to Washington DC – and the New African American Museum
A summer escape to the Washington DC area with a visit to the new National Museum of African American History.
read moreNew Orleans’ Confederate Monuments
Mayor Mitch Landrieu gave a moving speech Friday afternoon, as the last of the city’s four Confederate was coming down. He mentioned in his remarks all the people that had left New Orleans because of exclusionary attitudes – people like my parents, and indeed much of my extended family, who joined the tens of thousands, and perhaps more, in leaving the city for a better life.
read moreCuba Revisited: Day 1 – The Rolling Stones
My second visit to Cuba, at this historic time, begins with seeing The Rolling Stones.
read moreCelebrating Dooky Chase’s Restaurant and Ms. Leah Chase
Ms. Leah Chase’s 93rd birthday celebration, and the 75th anniversary of Dooky Chase’s restaurant.
read moreMeet Alon Shaya
Meet Alon Shaya, who happens to be having a great year. Now, I’m looking back 10 years, when he and John Besh re-entered New Orleans right after the storm.
read moreA St. Joseph’s Day Celebration
This week saw the festival celebration of St. Joseph’s Day, celebrated initially by Sicilians, and then quickly adopted by the other citizens of Catholic New Orleans.
read more
