Two Items of Interest For Those With New Orleans Interests

They both come from the Times-Picayune.

The first is a write up about the Zócolo Conference by Lolis E Elie.  Vaquero's invoked in the closing.

The tension between Latin immigrants and native born Americans can be predicted, Suro said. In places like New York and Los Angeles, where there have traditionally been high numbers of immigrants, new arrivals tend to blend in with relatively little friction.


But in a place like New Orleans, where the number of Latin immigrants is unprecedented in recent history, tension can be expected to grow. "It tends to be quite high in places where the Latin population is quite small and has grown rapidly...."

The other is about the plans of a local group, Mondo Bizarro, to bring more tourism and recognition to New Orleans Central City district, long known as poor ghetto, with all that implies to so many white tourists from middle America.

Central City is huge. On a map, it is the massive midsection of the city -- hard to miss, really -- yet reasons and opportunities for locals or tourists to go there are scant and, indeed, most folks do make a point of missing it.


Yet the area -- that huge blank canvas bordered by St. Charles and Claiborne avenues, running from the CBD to Napoleon Avenue -- is home to myriad architectural gems and curiosities, historic landmarks, and a massive, often invisible population.

Longtime Central City residents know a lot of stories that are not about gang warfare, police brutality and bad schools. Like everyone in New Orleans -- and most people everywhere -- they are ordinary people living extraordinary lives, and the fresh, passionate and nostalgic experiences they have to share offer a profoundly different view of the area that so many locals associate mostly with images of yellow police tape.

The name of the group, for this purpose though, seems from over here, a bit unfortunate, but that may just be me.  I do applaud their intention and energy and effort, for they are, of course, right.