About: Culture of New Orleans

The people and culture of New Orleans have made New Orleans, Louisiana unique among and distinct from other cities in the United States, including other Southern U.S. cities. New Orleans in modern times has been described as being not a Southern city but a Caribbean city. In a locale once used by Choctaw, Houmas, and other Indians, prominent cultural influences date to the French and Spanish colonial periods and the introduction of African slaves in the 18th century.