Tina LaCaze is the registrar for Santa Fe University of Art and Design, and hopes to stay in the education field.
Zydeco Breakfast
posted by Nicholas Beckman
The week after my spring break road trip to New Orleans, LA, my truck was beamed up in the lot I had it parked in during class. No one was injured physically. Financially, sure, but either way it meant I needed to get ahold of a body shop. A mutual friend from Bowling Green, KY knew a one Tom Uhl who worked as a general contractor for a 40 year chunk of his life in Santa Fe. Tom put me on to a body shop and we started chatting. He told me about a documentary he’d been working on for the past seven years about Zydeco culture in Louisiana. Finding intrigue in his “Dude” persona and sudden career change, I planned to meet him at Java Joe’s and talk art. “I’m gonna grab a coffee,” said a collected Uhl. He handed me a folder full of stills from his film, which has completed shooting and is currently undergoing a rigorous post-production process. For many not from Lousiana—including Uhl, Zydeco is and has been a mystery; though throughout the 20th century and up until today, performers like Clifton Chenier, Rockin Dopsie Sr.(and Jr.), Chubby Carrier and Donna Angelle—all of whom play integral parts in Uhl’s story—have not only furthered the genre, but paid homage to the ancestors of the culture while blending aspects of more contemporary sounds. At the beginning of his documentary, Uhl is asked why he found interest in Zydeco. A tall 60-something anglo originally from New York and currently residing in New Mexico, Uhl doesn’t fit the Cajun King stereotype. Without much hesitation, he responds simply: “The joy of it.” A “Zydeco Breakfast” is a brunch/breakfast usually held in some sort of music venue/restaurant where a live Zydeco band is playing. After being introduced to...
Recent Comments