Hi, nice to greet you. I’m Yael Yancelson and I’m very excited to be your guide and companion on this magical journey through the senses and imagination.

In this episode we are going to take a trip full of rhythms and flavors, because thanks to our imaginative power we quickly arrived in Louisiana in the United States, to enjoy a wonderful journey with our 5 senses, so ¿will you come with me?

Well, we are now in Louisiana, a highly musical state, and this is where Mark welcomes us. He owns the music store where he makes handcrafted Cajun accordions, which he then plays with his friends every weekend. He takes us to the Savoy Music Center in Eunice, where he tells us that jam sessions are held every Saturday morning, attracting well-known and not-so-known musicians for decades.

So let’s enjoy excellent Music. What do you think?

Well, they already made me want to dance, didn’t you?

Music genres like Cajun, zydeco and swamp pop really stand out in this southwestern Louisiana city, also known for its fine dining and the immersive Creole Nature Trail All-American Road. In the past, traveling musicians always stopped at Lake Charles. Today, it remains an ideal place to enjoy live music. Local bars and pubs present a wide variety of music from local and regional bands.

The Jazz Clinic presents an educational forum for jazz musicians of all levels through workshops and practices.

Zydeco and Cajun music share some similarities and both have their origins in this part of the world. Cajun music arose with the Acadians who populated southwestern Louisiana in the late 18th century. It was almost always sung in French. Zydeco music was created by African-American sharecroppers, slaves, and farmers who inhabited the area in the mid-19th century. Each genre had an important influence on the other, in fact, both styles use some of the same instruments (particularly the accordion), but Cajun music has a greater resemblance to French folk music and other regions of Europe, while the zydeco is closer to blues, Afro-Caribbean music and R&B.The Rendez-Vous invites zydeco and cajun marching bands, with local dancers under the stage

Let’s move on to the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center, which is part of the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, located in downtown Eunice. This impressive contemporary museum features a theater that hosts Cajun and zydeco music concerts, as well as Cajun cooking demonstrations, displays of local music, crafts and produce.

¡So let’s dance!!!

We continue to tour Lake Charles which is located within the Cajun region and therefore has a strong connection to its culinary scene as well as the natural beauty of the countryside. Look, there’s a Creole Ecological Trail, also known as rural Louisiana. This was one of the first recognized National Scenic Byways in the United States. It is made up of several wildlife refuges while winding through swamps, grasslands and the Gulf of Mexico. 

Look at the lizards and birds over there. Can you see the many shades of green in the meadows and marshes? and we will not miss the beautiful sunset on this tour.

Mark gets in his car and drives us to explore the wetlands on Pintail Wildlife Drive & Boardwalk and keep your eyes peeled for alligators and birds, drive past Holly Beach, also known as the “Cajun Riviera.” I loved their colorful houses, didn’t you?

 We pass through the Seafood Sensation Trail to visit local restaurants that specialize in fresh seafood.

And suddenly the aroma of shrimp jambalaya, seafood gumbo, fried shrimp and more spices invaded the air and since you know that I love to try new flavors I already asked the local people for the recipe and with ingredients in hand we go to my kitchen.

Something very typical is also the boudin, pronounced “bu-dán”, it is something similar to a sausage. In its most traditional version, meat, rice, onions, peppers and other condiments are mixed together, and then stuffed into a natural wrapper. It is a food that is eaten with the hands, very typical among the locals as a dish or as a snack.

How many birds have we seen, ¡right? more than 400 species, the truth is that this trip has been quite a visual spectacle and it was very fun to catch blue crabs with chicken bait soaked in salt water. I felt like a girl on board the boat that took us to Adventure Point in Sulphur.

Well, this is how today we leave the wonderful state of Louisiana, we will travel every week to another corner of this world, to know, enjoy and fly with the imagination, I ask you, if you liked the content, share it with your friends and give me a like and a review of your comments because with that you help me a lot to raise the ranking of this podcast, ALTERNATIVE REALITY A UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT SPACE THAT CREATES COMMUNITY…. This space is born from a very personal need to connect with visually impaired and hearing impaired people who teach us that you can enjoy these trips full of music, smells and different tastes in very different ways and that is why I like to think that together we make a difference. . I invite you to get to know the ONCE foundation for solidarity with blind people in Latin America/ and if you like to contribute, we will be very grateful, visit https://www.foal.es. By helping others we mainly help ourselves, unfortunately we have visited an area that has suffered from many natural disasters and support is needed, for long-term recovery work, if you would like more information visit: https://volunteerlouisiana.gov/ donate

Until next week and thanks for traveling with me.