New Orleans native Tennessee Williams is quoted as saying, “America has only three cities: New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Everything else is Cleveland.” Perhaps that’s a tad harsh, as there are a number of other wonderful and interesting cities in the U.S. (And the Cleve itself isn’t so bad! Just ask Liz Lemon.) But one thing the cities of New York, San Francisco, and New Orleans all have in common is their multiculturalism – something that I imagined inspired Williams’s quip.
It may seem obvious, but one of the things I’ve come to value the most when traveling throughout this country is those areas where diverse cultures come into contact with one another, often creating something new and beautiful in the process. I currently reside in Oklahoma, a state that may seem homogenous statistically, but also one where a number of Native American nations and Latino and Southeast Asian cultures converge, creating some of the state’s most interesting traditions and neighborhoods. In our globalized world where you can find the same chain stores in every town, the influence of different cultures becomes more important than ever.
Everyone Loves New Orleans?
New Orleans is one of the first places I’ve ever visit about which I heard nothing but rave reviews from others who had visited. It’s certainly the only city of the three Williams mentions with such a positive reception – New York is often seen as too crowded and frantic, San Francisco too gentrified and taken over by tech (and both too expensive). But no matter what kind of person I asked – avid traveler, introvert, wealthy, middle class, culture vulture or party person – everyone liked NOLA. When people tried to explain it to me, they said things about the food, the friendliness, the diversity. But they also said this: “It’s like being in another country, when you’re still in the U.S.”
This intrigued me, as person who spends much of her time trying to scheme ways to leave the country and travel abroad for cheap. But traveling abroad without even leaving the U.S.? That I hadn’t thought of.
“Like Being in Another Country”
And it’s true. NOLA has a wide range of cultural influences. The city began its life as a French colony, was ceded to the Spanish, and then returned to French rule about a century later. After the Louisiana Purchase, New Orleans saw an influx of Haitian, Creole, African and French immigrants; Irish, Germans, and Italians later joined. The confluence of all of these cultures made its mark on the city, which remains today. Some parts of New Orleans feel Caribbean, some Spanish, and some French. My friends were correct when they said it feels like being in another country – but a country wholly its own, where pieces of cultures have become integrated over the years into one ever-evolving whole.
And everything else people said is true, too: there’s great food (especially seafood, which I greatly appreciate as someone from landlocked country), music, art, and history. It also has those great cemeteries that feel like ancient sites, ice-cold daiquiris and monsoons you can drink on the street, and – at the best bars – all the free red beans and rice you could want.
I went to New Orleans in March to spend a week with great friends who knew the area. We covered all we could – culture at the New Orleans Museum of Art, history at Lafayette and St. Louis Cemeteries, music at Candlelight Lounge, Vaughan’s, and One-Eyed Jacks and, of course, all the food we could eat and still live to be tourists another day. During this whirlwind trip, I had to agree with those I surveyed: while other towns might claim to have something for everyone, New Orleans truly does.
Tennessee Williams was right – New Orleans is a true American city, in sense that it embodies all that the word “city” invokes: the community, the sense of excitement, and the unique vitality of a place so self-contained and self-possessed.
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I have never been to New Orleans but I have seen many movies set in and around the city. It always looked wonderful. I have always wanted to go to the cemeteries. I hope someday I will get there. Thank you.