- Saturday, March 8, anno domini 2025
- Variable, sunny
- Plain
- 69°/82°
- Mile, mpg, g today: 118.1 including 0.0 on off-road, 38.1 mpg, 3.10 gallon.
- Mile, mpg, g total: 5798.3 including TBD on off-road, 38.1 mpg, 151.05 gallon
- Stage: Covington, Independence and New Orleans.
- [LA] St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Charles Parish, Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parish.
Today will be a special day. About 30 miles away, after spending the night at Cracker Barrel in Covington, there is a small town called Independence.
What is so special about this little town?
Sicilian Festival!!!
Heard about it when I had arrived in New Orleans, I think through Grok the AI or internet searches. The festival falls on these very days and I could not miss coming, besides it’s not very far from New Orleans.
That this festival would fall right on the itinerary of my trip to the United States was rather a pleasant and delightful surprise. One of those nice out-of-schedules.
After all, I’ve never been to Sicily and, on the other hand, being in Independence, which was once a town with an almost total majority of Sicilian-born inhabitants, immigrants and first generations, is, let’s say, “unusual”…how can I frame myself? “Have I been to the Sicily of America?”
Shortly after leaving toward the town, I notice the sign… “Winnie-Dixie.”
Memories of Florida! Is the supermarket here too? And I couldn’t resist stopping to buy a sandwich.
Then, I choose the route through the countryside instead of the highway. Scenes of woods mixed with farm fields. In an hour or so…we’re arrived!!!
Flags of Sicily everywhere!
I drive around to get a sense of the conformation of the town, there is a small festival, and I park Panda nearby.
Booth of different activities and I see the main stage…“Benvenuti”, aka “Welcome” in Italian.
After 69 days, feeling a little bit at home…a particular and special feeling.
I notice, however, that no one speaks Italian.
I see a girl with a sash and crown…will be the classic miss of the festival, obligatory souvenir photo, eh!
Note the writing on the crown.
At one booth is “Italian Culture Museum,” and I try to ask if there is anyone who speaks Italian. One of the guys directs me to go to the museum that is nearby, there should be a person there, then he decided that he want to accompany me all the way there.
The museum is located inside an old church that has been converted into a museum. It was the Sicilian community church, then became a small then built a new one across the street.
There is no Italian-speaking person, but on the other hand there is him who, for about two hours, tells me a little bit of everything…stories, anecdotes, things like that…it’s kind of like when you talk to the elder in your village/town. A wonderful thing.
Summary. This small town once upon a time was mostly composed of Sicilians who immigrated here in the late 1800s. They found work mostly in the countryside picking strawberries; the climate here and in Sicily are similar, and many were farmers who already had experience in Sicily, so they knew the job, at a time when slavery had just been abolished and labor was needed. Later, Sicilians bought land and became owners. So this community was created, which, inevitably, over time got a little bit lost, generation after generation the identity of the newly born became Americanized.
But they have this group of people, voluntarily, try to maintain their history, tradition and customs; hence the festival and museum. An opportunity for community and remembrance of the past, of who they were…newspapers, articles, photos, even art posters…a heritage…What they do is really admirable. At the bottom I leave a few links of material, in case you want to learn more about this town.
It was really a pleasant chat. I got a little emotional when, when asked if they have been to Sicily at least once, they say no, that they wish they had but have never been there; they have the address of the houses where their ancestors lived.
In this case, a donation to their association was more than due, and he gave me this T-shirt. And gave me seeds of cucuzza, a Sicilian variety of zucchini, telling me to plant them in Italy…a kind of repatriation!
Then, farewell to them…Tonight in New Orleans there is a deaf community event so I could not refuse the invitation they gave me in the previous days, I would have liked to stay and listen to other stories, of other people…moving forward is part of the journey.
On the way to NOLA I stop for gas at this gas station, which for more than 60 [sic!] years was owned by Sicilians [took photo of newspaper article about this, see above]. It is now run by an Indian. But, Panda has been here, Black Cat!
- Gas station no. 29 – Tickfaw [LA]
Chain: Black Cat [independent]
Type: Premium 93
$/gal: 3.799 [0.927€/l]
Gallons dispensed: 2.632 galloni [9.96 L]
Total: 10.00$
And in New Orleans at night…such beauty.
- Distance traveled on foot, from Heath app iOS: 2.24 miles.
- On-board computer reports:
Distance: 118.1 miles
Average fuel consumption: 38.1 mpg
Average speed: 34 mph
Travel time: 3h26′
Material for further study:
Italian Traditions in Independence, Louisiana Click “more” at the bottom of the article, will download a 33-page document, very interesting.
Museum site: https://www.indymuseum.org/ FB page: https://www.facebook.com/iicmuseum/
Festival site: https://www.indysicilianfest.com/ FB page: https://www.facebook.com/Indysicilianfest FB group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/492467420940988/
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