My friend just got back from Lafayette. He went to the big Music Shop in Lafayette (I think that's the name of it).
He asked for a "Tit-Fer", and the guy had no idea what he was referring to. The clerk went and got the manager, and my friend asked again if he had a Tit-Fer... The manager had no idea what he was talking about. After describing a "still triangle", the guy showed him some triangles that were no close to the real thing.

At the end, my friend left empty-handed and eventually found a real Tit-Fer at a public exhibition where an artisan was selling some home-made Tit-Fer in a tent....

Isn't that pathetic that one of the biggest music instrument shop in Lafayette (if not the biggest) would be so ignorant about their own culture???

Any thought or similar experience on your part?

Got a fiddle re-strung there 2 years ago, if indeed it is the same place. They did have some real nice Italian violins in a glass case for $ 8,000.00 and up. No Accordions,of any kind, though. Nice people, anyway. They must cater to the College crowd. Lafayette strikes me as being just another mid-sized main-stream America city, except you can get crawfish in season on the side of the road. Here in San Antonio it's just shrimp & Blue Crabs. Can't buy a 'Tit-fer her either. Can't imagine why anybody would want one. Hey Maz! Muchas Gracias for all the many lyrics. Very, very appreciated.
JB

Maybe the name of the place is Lafayette Music over on Johnston? Anyway, JB has it right. Sure Lafayette is smack dab in the middle of Cajun ground-zero, but it is a cosmopolitan city on small scale, including a large college and major retail. There's a lot of people there who wouldn't know a tee-fer from a fir tree. This holds true for Lake Charles, and well, Baton Rouge, too. You'd might be surprised how popular Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland, and Usher are in Lafayette.

In my humble opinion, Eunice and Ville Platte (and Lanse Gris!) win the culture awards when it comes to the local population comprehending the importance of; and preservation of; Louisiana history and culture. This transcends every aspect of tradition -- whether Cajun or Creole.

Perhaps it is because these are "towns" and haven't reached "mall status" yet.

R!CK

Well, L'anse Grise was actually thinking about a mall, a meat mall. Where you could go to one stop and for all your graton, boudin, sausage, and panse bourrée needs instead of getting sausage at Charlies, gratons at T-Boy's, boudin at the Y, and panse bourrée at the corner store. At this time parking around the crawfish fields is a problem not yet solved by the Lanse Grise cultural comittee, Les Couillons. It appears another boucherie, I mean meeting, will be required.

Baton Rouge never was Cajun. It's part of the Florida parishes, not Acadiana. Different mix of people settled there...and now it's full of politicians.

As for Lafayette and Lake Charles, you have to know where to look. And anyone who walks into Lafayette Music and doesn't smell the aroma of snobbery in the air must have some serious nasal congestion.

I had read something a while back on this Meat Mall and saw some architectural concept drawings. The huge hog head with the gaping mouth entry was way cool! I hope the developers follow through with this -- what a dream come true for ALL of us! Well, except for the rear exit on the place... That was just... weird.

R!CK

Rear exits are supposed to be weird.

My wife and I are taking voice lessons for the first time in our lives, I'am 58 years old. We just had our recital and we sang La porte d'un arrierre and J'ai passe' devant ta porte. I played my accordian and my wife played her guitar. We live in Thibodaux LA. We were blown away that no one there had ever seen a live performance of Cajun music. Oh, did I mention my wife is from Portland OR. and she can sing in Cajun french.

I can relate to this. I had the same problem when I went to Philadelphia and asked about where to get real cream cheese.

I was in the Lafeyette tourist info place in 1994. A French lady ( from France, that is) was asking the staff where she could find a bar where a Cajun music program was broadcast live on Saturday mornings.
No-one had a clue about it.
It took a furriner (yours truly) to tell her to go to Fred's.

BJ

Now THAT'S funny! I've been known to ask Parisians "Is there REALLY a place in France where the women where no pants?" But then, I'm more than a bit wonky . . .

That's funny Jamey! Well, at least I can proudly say I live in a city where women wear THE pants and a popular U.S. president was assassinated. It's also known for that truly exellent 80's television series featuring J.R.

Most tourist come here to see where the TV show was filmed (amazing how big it looks on the screen), and most of the furriners are looking for tumbleweeds, cactus, cowboys, and cattledrives. None of those things exist within a hundred miles from here.

Big D tourists also have a strange fixation on the downtown block where Kennedy was shot. You can drive by the book depository at almost any time of day or night and find someone walking around that area, taking photos, and piecing together their own conspiracy theory.

What I do for fun? I like to scatter spent 6.5 mm ammo casings on the grassy knoll... grab a forty of Bud Ice, then park... and sit back and watch the fun.

R!CK