Culture of New Orleans
In a locale once inhabited by Choctaw, Houma, and other native tribes,[3][4] prominent cultural influences date to the French and Spanish[5] colonial periods and the introduction of enslaved Africans in the 18th century.
The prestige associated with being from New Orleans by many residents is likely a factor in the linguistic assimilation of the ethnically divergent population.
The tendency among people around the world to say "noo-or-LEENZ" stems from the use of that pronunciation by singers and songwriters, who find it easy to rhyme.
[citation needed] The pronunciation "NAW-linz" is likewise not generally used nor liked by locals but has been popularized by the tourist trade.
New Orleans has always been a significant center for music with its intertwined European, Latin American, and African-American cultures.
[10][11] Decades later it was home to a distinctive brand of rhythm and blues that contributed greatly to the growth of rock and roll.
Its average annual per-capita homicide rate (59 per 100,000) ranks highest of large cities in the country from 1990 to 2010 based on Bureau Of Justice Statistics from FBI Uniform Crime Reports.
In 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011 New Orleans' per capita homicide rate led cities with populations of 100,000 or more residents, which made it the nation's murder capital of the above-mentioned years with annual per capita homicide rates that were at least ten times the U.S. average in each of those years, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics from FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NOLA.com, and criminologist Dr. Peter Scharf.
[13] After Hurricane Katrina (2005), news media attention focused on the reduced violent-crime rate following the exodus of many New Orleanians.
That trend began to reverse itself as people returned to the city, although calculating the homicide rate remained difficult when no authoritative source could cite a total population figure.
The market is the 51st largest Designated Market Area (DMA) in the U.S., serving 633,140 homes and 0.559% of the U.S. Major television network affiliates serving the area include WWL 4 (CBS), WGNO 26 (ABC), WDSU 6 (NBC), WVUE 8 (FOX), WNOL 38 (WB), WUPL 54 (UPN), and WPXL 49 (ION).
WHNO 20 also operates as an independent station in the area, providing mainly religious programming.
Radio stations serving Greater New Orleans include: Greater New Orleans has many visitor attractions, including Uptown's St. Charles Avenue, home of Tulane University, Loyola University, many stately 19th-century mansions, and the St. Charles Streetcar Line.
Mardi Gras celebrations include parades and floats; participants toss strings of cheap colorful beads and doubloons to the crowds.
[18] Hexfest is an annual gathering of spiritual workers from all over the world and is held in the first or second week of August each year in the French Quarter.
This three-day event features authors, and various community elders sharing knowledge and workshops.
The Island of Salvation Botanica hosts an annual ritual honoring this Haitian Day of the Dead.
New Orleans is also home to Southern Yacht Club, located at West End on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
The building was severely damaged, first by storm surge and then by fire, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Unique specialties include beignets, square-shaped fried pastries that could be called "French doughnuts" (served with coffee and chicory, known as café au lait); po' boy and Italian muffuletta sandwiches; Gulf oysters on the half-shell, boiled crawfish, and other seafood; étouffée, jambalaya, gumbo, and other Creole dishes; and the Monday favorite of red beans and rice (Louis Armstrong often signed his letters, "Red beans and ricely yours"[20]).
