WWOZ

Continuing on my quest to identify the attitude that defines a New Orleanian, I was led to speak with Judy Wood, a show host for a local radio station in New Orleans. WWOZ is known as the New Orleans Jazz and heritage station and is broadcast al over the world. Its popularity comes from its purity and loyalty to playing local musicians and genres of music of New Orleans. Their strong pride for the city and its music led to look at what it is that makes New Orleans so special according to the station themselves.

Judy specializes in contemporary jazz and is highly involved in the local music scene in New Orleans. She has been in New Orleans since 1973 and after her children moved away, she decided to stay in New Orleans. I asked what it was that really kept her here, and she said it was the music. I think that says a lot about the importance of music to the life of a New Orleanian. Music has a power here that holds the people together. She started going to Jazz concerts when she first arrived and was captivated by the music. She became very involved in the community through city government and through music. She describes the music as a part of the New Orleans culture. “People here grow up with the music; they hear it in the womb.” She says there is a specific beat of New Orleans that you can’t find anywhere and that translates to the people. The energy of New Orleans is unlike anywhere else. She told me a story of an experience in the French Quarter she had the other day in which a man was extravagantly dressed marching up and down the street, entertaining everyone around him. Her response was, “only in New Orleans.” I think this says a lot about what is acceptable here might not be in other parts of the country. Things happen here that might not be able to elsewhere. People seem to be more sure of themselves and who they are and are able to show themselves in ways they might not be able to somewhere else. Judy says New Orleans literally “sweats culture” thanks, in part, to the heat, but also thanks to inhibition and freedom New Orleans allows. This ability to have this freedom helps support a strong community and bond among the people.

I wanted to narrow my focus for this final paper to be able to really learn about New Orleans on a more specific level. I am intrigued by the idea of community present with the people of New Orleans. There is an unspoken sense of community present in the events and rituals of New Orleans. I want to know about those rituals and identify what it is about these strong ties people have to their city and to each other that support this idea of the social and cultural aspects of New Orleans and its people. Hopefully through more investigation and identification of these rituals on different scales and both formal and informal, I will be able to have a better understanding of what that mystery of New Orleans really is.