Vietnamese in New Orleans

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Part of a series on
Ethnicity in New Orleans
Vietnamese shops in New Orleans East's "Versailles"

As of 2012

Greater New Orleans has over 14,000 Vietnamese Americans and other people of Vietnamese origins.[1]

History

Large waves of Vietnamese arrived in New Orleans beginning around 1975 after the

Catholic Charities brought them specifically to New Orleans.[1] The first groups settled in Section 8 properties in the Versailles area of New Orleans East. The first 200 families trickled into New Orleans, half going to the Versailles Apartments in New Orleans East and the other half going to Kingstown Marrero Apartments. Both New Orleans East and the Westbank were settled by the Vietnamese at the same time.[3] In later periods, Vietnamese settlements spread to other parts of the metropolitan New Orleans area including other sections of New Orleans East, Avondale,[2] and the City of Gretna.[4]

The New Orleans East section was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Sara Roahen, the author of Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table, wrote that the Vietnamese had been accustomed to hardship and therefore were not as devastated by the effects of the storm, and that of the groups in the flooded zones the Vietnamese had "rallied" the fastest.[5]

Organizations

Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association of New Orleans (VAYLA-NO) is an area organization for youth.[6]

Vietnamese shrimpers who reside in Plaquemines Parish participate in an annual "Blessing of the Fleet" at the start of brown shrimp season in May.[7]

Media

S. Leo Chiang directed the 2009 television documentary A Village Called Versailles, co-produced by the Independent Television Service and Walking Iris Films. The project was in cooperation with the Center for Asian American Media.[8] The film discusses Vietnamese-American life in New Orleans.[9]

Religion

Many Vietnamese living in Versailles are

Roman Catholics. Mary Queen of Vietnam, a Vietnamese Catholic church, is in the center of the community.[9]

Cuisine

Thomas Beller of

T+L Magazine stated that the use of baguettes and influences from France are the similarities between the cuisine of New Orleans and Vietnamese cuisine.[4]

Vietnamese restaurants opened in Vietnamese communities in

Chinese American restaurants out of the belief that they were more likely to succeed compared to Vietnamese restaurants. By 2014 Vietnamese restaurants had opened outside of Vietnamese communities, such as in the East Bank of New Orleans. The owners of these newer restaurants were born and/or raised in the United States.[10]

In New Orleans

Crawfish is a common element with both the native New Orleans cuisine and the Vietnamese cuisine. Elizabeth M. Williams, author of New Orleans: A Food Biography, wrote that "there is little need for Asian Cajun restaurants" due to the fact that "spicy crawfish boils are so easy to find in New Orleans".[1]

Williams wrote that many Vietnamese easily learned how to make

spring rolls.[1]

As of 2008[update] many Vietnamese in Village de l'Est grow vegetables in gardens.[11] Other popular crops include mangoes, mint, taro, squash, and bananas.[7]

Recreation

The

Vietnamese New Year (Tet) is celebrated in New Orleans East.[12]

Notable residents

References

  1. ^
    OCLC 806017595
    .
  2. ^ "History of Vietnamese Immigration to New Orleans". Clarion Herald. July 1, 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  3. ^
    T+L Magazine
    . Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  4. OCLC 154706845
    .
  5. ^ Ravitz, Jessica (June 25, 2010). "Vietnamese fishermen in Gulf fight to not get lost in translation". edition.cnn.com. Cable News Network. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Wist, Allie (2019-11-13). "How Louisiana's Vietnamese Shrimpers Are Adapting to Climate Change". Saveur. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  7. OCLC 748812827
    .
  8. ^
    OCLC 746004378
    .
  9. The Times-Picayune
    . Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  10. The Times-Picayune
    . Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  11. The Times-Picayune
    . Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  12. The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original
    on 2012-11-18. Retrieved September 5, 2017.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Little Vietnam, New Orleans.


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