We Went There

      . . . . And so we did, go to New Orleans...

As miserable prepping for the 10-day journey was, mostly due to the very mixed weather and temperatures we would experience, as well as the knowledge that for the first time in years, I would be spending entire days within the company of over 50 other people -- and more due to some of the venues being clubs! the going itself was just fine and as smooth as it could possibly be.  LaGuardia airport’s renovation and remodeling has included handling TSA lines a lot better, smoother and faster. el V did everything anyway, via his fone, so I had nothing at all to do but show my passport. At the TSA metal detectors, again, I was questioned as to my non removal of footgear; the TSA person said I didn’t look old enough to be pardoned that requirement! so I should feel complimented by her inquiring. This was also the case at departure. (Surely it would have been different if I wasn't wearing a mask though!) Throughout the security process and inside the security perimeters, I was comfortable in my mask, in the terminal and on the plane, i.e. not anxious, despite so many coughing and not masked. What the heck, yanno?  I decided to do this, so there it is. As our beloved Dr. Song, says, "The mask is the vaccine." And so it is. The rain-wind storms were over by the time we were ready to land at New Orleans's new Louis Armstrong airport.

Outside the Lolis House in Treme, which was our base camp for the Treme Second Line Parade Sunday. Spike Lee gave us both t-shirts from his production in response to the Levee failure of Katrina, If
God  Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise. El V was interviewed on camera for the film.  The great geographer and scholar of New Orleans, Richard Campanella, provided fascinating and heartbreaking history of New Orleans, the levees and pumping stations, particularly around the why of the pumping station failure and flooding of Katrina.

"For the Funk of It" was another extraordinary Postmambo experience.  None of us got covid , or a cold, or anything else. This is much easier to do, when the schedule is so carefully planned and calibrated, for an environment which is highly ventilated as part of the eco-structure of the place as is New Orleans, and mask wearing inside the transportation -- with open windows when possible. It would be a lot different moving 50 people around NYC in winter than in New Orleans.  Which is why we did "For the Funk of It" on these days.

Then, yesterday, we left Spring behind and returned to Winter, though of course, our friends here, will not allow us to ignore the fact they endured some of the most brutal Winter NYC's had in a while, while we danced under the moon (the last nights anyway) and heard the best music.  As one of our multiple generations of on-the-ground-in-the-community guides said to me, "Every artist we saw, every act was pure Star -- not three stars, not four stars, not four and a half stars, but FIVE STAR WORLD CLASS, Babeee, and if I wasn't doing this gig I'd never have gotten to hear this!"

As I have been feeling this trip confirmed that New Orleans is in the midst of another Renaissance of artistic, creative explosion.  The energy there is incredible, which is felt and seen in everything from music to art to cuisine.  New Orleans is changing a lot, thanks to the influence of the numbers of 'others' moving in, from Honduras and Mexico, to Haitians and Cubans.  Particularly the Haitian and Cuban musicians who have chosen New Orleans, rather than Miami, as their US city of refuge. When we lived in New Orleans during the days of the Tulane Fellowship for The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square (for which 4 digit audio royalties came in again, the day before we left on "For the Funk of It") there were no Cuban or Haitian musicians or bands there.  The influence percussively and vocally is flowing back-and-forth, inspiring fresh takes and innovation from both directions.  What is particularly exciting about what is going on there currently, is that, this being New Orleans, so rooted generationally in the mud of the place, that the gorgeous, foundational mosaic that made New Orleans unique and special in the world musically isn't being thrown out at all.  It is still the base, the center, but that base is growing, spatially, up, down and all around.

This makes the city a crackling, sizzling place of excitement and vitality -- quite unlike, say, Manhattan.  However, one fears, that like, say Manhattan, the greed capitalist land speculators are going to shut it all down by making it impossible for anyone who isn't quite, quite rich to live there.  Even within our own 'woke' group of Travellers, are quite a few who have second homes in New Orleans, which means people like our generationally planted ground crews, are having one hell of a time finding somewhere to live, since the Katrina floods took out their multiple generational family prosperity and homes. One sees the effect of this in the undeniable fact that all the service industries, whether hotels, restaurants, doctors, ophthalmologists, etc. can't get the staff they need to operate full-time.  Many are leaving New Orleans.

It is clear, the trauma of Katrina has by no means left the fibers and sinews of New Orleans and her people.

One other thing is clear, yet again, what Postmambo Seminars do and accomplish, cannot be done without dedicated, experienced, caring people who know the people and the territory, inside and out, who are connected, to the very height and depths of their souls.

One way and another, "For the Funk of It" gave back to New Orleans, did not just take -- we pumped at least $100,000 directly into the musical and Black communities. Which is something, a small thing, but something.

It also showed that when done mindfully, carefully, in cooperation with and guidance from the knowledgeable, connected people who live there, like-minded group travel can be done again, safely.  So we are starting to believe Postmambo al-Andalus can be done with our people in 2024.