Linda's Blogspot

  Haiti's Vetiver: From the Roots of the Earth to the World's Most Expensive Perfumes An agricultural treasure connecting Haiti to the international perfume industry, rural livelihoods and environmental conservation. When we think about Haiti, we often hear about its revolutionary history, its struggle for independence, political instability, natural disasters and economic challenges. But Haiti also has an important agricultural product that connects the country to the international luxury perfume industry. That product is vetiver. Vetiver is a tropical grass whose roots produce an aromatic essential oil used in some of the world's most prestigious perfumes. Haiti is one of the leading producers of vetiver oil, with much of its production concentrated in the southwestern region around Les Cayes. What makes this crop particularly interesting is that it has two seemingly contradictory characteristics. Vetiver can help prevent soil erosion, yet harvesting it for the perfume in...

  Jamaica Once Grew Its Own Rice: The Rise and Decline of a Caribbean Agricultural Industry When we think about Jamaica, we often think about reggae music, beautiful beaches, tropical fruits, coffee, and jerk cooking. But there is another part of Jamaica's agricultural history that deserves attention: the country once had a commercial rice industry. Many people may be surprised to learn that Jamaica once produced a meaningful portion of the rice consumed by its population. Today, Jamaica imports much of its rice. However, there was a time when rice farming provided employment and income for Jamaican farmers and agricultural communities. What happened to that industry? Understanding the history provides an opportunity to examine the relationship between agricultural development, international trade, imported food, and the ability of Caribbean countries to feed their own populations. Jamaica's Rice-Growing Communities During the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, rice was commercially cult...

The article below focuses on writers who documented California, its people, landscapes, communities, history, and culture—not necessarily writers who were born there. Jack Kerouac is an excellent example. The article includes writers who lived in California, traveled through it, or made it an important setting in their work. Reading About Home: Discovering Writers Who Wrote About California I was born and raised in Northern California. Growing up, I had teachers who introduced us to important American writers such as Jack London, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway. Their books were part of our literary education. We read their stories, studied their characters, and learned about different parts of the country through their writing. As I think back on those years, I realize how important it was to be introduced to writers who wrote about the places where we lived. California has a remarkable literary history. Writers have documented its landscapes, agricultural communities, working pe...

  The Rhythmic Architecture of Tremé: How Saint-Domingue Shaped the Sound of New Orleans ​For an American city, New Orleans has always moved to a distinctly Afro-diasporic beat. Across its neighborhoods, the sonic landscape shifts seamlessly from early ragtime syncopation and Mississippi River blues to hot jazz, brass band fanfares, and modern second-line street parades. Where music in many North American cities was historically compartmentalized or confined to specific venues, the sound in New Orleans operates as the actual heartbeat and public architecture of urban life. This kinetic street culture bears a striking resemblance to the central role Afro-Brazilian music plays in Salvador da Bahia or Rio de Janeiro, where rhythm is not merely background entertainment, but a primary cultural driver. ​At the center of this musical lineage lies the historic Tremé neighborhood and its adjacent gathering ground, Congo Square. To understand why Black musical expression functions as the d...

  Allen Toussaint and the Living Musical Traditions of New Orleans How a City Keeps Its Musical Heritage Alive One of the things I appreciate about New Orleans is the way the city keeps its musical traditions alive. Blues, ragtime, traditional jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, brass-band music, and other musical forms are not simply part of the city's history. They continue to be performed, celebrated, and passed from one generation to the next. Music can be heard in neighborhood clubs, churches, festivals, street parades, and community gatherings. It accompanies celebrations, funerals, and other important occasions. The music belongs to the people as much as it belongs to the performers. New Orleans offers an important lesson in cultural preservation. A tradition can remain alive when people continue to practice it, teach it, adapt it, and make it part of everyday life. One musician who exemplifies this remarkable heritage is Allen Toussaint, the pianist, songwriter, arranger, a...

  Mirror Cities of the Atlantic: The Deep Connections Between New Orleans and Saint-Louis, Senegal ​Summary Deck: Separated by an ocean but linked by a shared imperial design, New Orleans and Saint-Louis stand as "mirror cities" of the Atlantic world. From the architecture of the French Quarter to the roots of open-range cattle ranching, jambalaya, and jazz, the cultural legacy of Senegambia lives on in lower Louisiana. ​Key Takeaways ​Shared Imperial Roots: Both cities were founded ex nihilo by the French empire as river-mouth trading hubs—Saint-Louis at the mouth of the Senegal River in 1659, and New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River in 1718. ​Agricultural & Ecological Impact: Enslaved Africans from Senegambia brought critical expertise in rice cultivation, flood-plain engineering, and open-range cattle herding that laid the foundation for Louisiana’s frontier economy. ​Parallel Afro-Creole Societies: The influential mixed-race signares of Saint-Louis and th...