South American Journal

Back from a quick jaunt to New Orleans, which made me wonder: how would things be today if Louisiana had stayed in Spanish hands? Would it be another state of México? Part of a Spanish-speaking República de Tejas? Regardless of what could have been, for this first-time visitor, New Orleans was instantly familiar. With the heavy imprint of colonial, slave and Creole cultures (and with a notable absence of the puritanical hangover we suffer from in the North), the Crescent City really should be considered part of Latin America.