Cabildo & Presbytere

This morning I was able to go on a tour of two wonderful museums called the Cabildo and the Presbytere. The Presbytere explained about the history of Hurricane Katrina and the direct impact that it had on both the people and the city of New Orleans. One of the things that amazed me the most was the different way that the people of New Orleans responded to this crisis. During our tour of the museum, there was a specific booth set up to describe the way that different local heroes helped others during the storm. One story stuck out to me more than another other story that I heard today. This story was about a young man who came upon a women who was in labor after Hurricane Katrina had hit. The man explained that his left hand was cut and that his right hand was infected with dirty water. After removing his hands from the water, the man asked God to bless his hands in order for this baby to be delivered healthy. The man said at the end of the story that the baby survived and ended being extremely healthy. I thought this was especially neat to here because even with all the bad that happened during hurricane Katrina, there was also still some good that came out of everything as well. The word amazed is what kinds to my when I think of my reaction to Hurricane Katrina. I couldn't believe the amount of damage that was done during the storm, but I was also amazed by the generosity of the people as well.

The Cabildo was also a wonderful place to experience as well. Throughout our time at the Cabildo, there were many stories told to me by both the pictures that were on display as well as the artifacts that were there as well. One of the most interesting stories I learned was when I saw a picture of Marie Laveau. The description by the picture stated that there was no pictures of Marie Laveau, and that the painting that was on display was put as someones best guess as to what she looked like. I was really surprised to hear this because the people of New Orleans are very big on incorporating relatives and the stories of families into their culture. I assumed that there would be multiple pictures of family members including real pictures of Marie Laveau, but there was not. Overall, I feel that the Cabildo taught me that culture varies within each family and that every painting truly had a different story.

Until next time,

Hannah