VISITE http://emigrantecanario.com
“Canarians of the Mississippi: The Canary Islanders In Louisiana” is the lastest work by Manuel Mora Morales, for his unfinished series “La Ruta del Gofio: History of the Canarian Immigration.” The documentary was filmed around the marshes of the Mississippi River in Louisiana, USA in 2005 and 2006. It tells the story of the Canarian Islanders who immigrated to Louisiana in the 18th century in order to establish colonies and to defend Spanish territories from the British and French forces in the area. “Canarians of the Mississippi” is produced by Amazonas Films and is being released in Spanish and English versions.
To this day there are descendants of the first Canarian immigrants, known as “islenos,” that continue speaking the Castilian language with the same accent as their ancestors. During the last 200 years the islanders have been subject to perhaps the most unusual story of the Canarian Migration; while it is full of unusual tales and events the story of the islanders is the least known inside and outside the archipelago.
Mention could be made of their important contributions to the American War of Independence, the islander battalions under General Lee and their presence in the American congress, as well as other numerous political figures whom have influenced politics in the United States government.
Many traditions and folklore in the islander community that exist today came from the Canary Islands over two centuries ago: music (the decima,) food (the caldo) and folk healing known as Curanderismo.
The documentary also contains historic interviews with islanders as well as antiquated film footage of the great flood of 1927. Canarians of the Mississippi is more significant though for its treatment of the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the Islander community and it’s struggle to survive.
While most of the documentary was filmed shortly before the hurricane, Mora Morales returned to Louisiana in 2006 and found that many people and places had disappeared or no longer existed. Many of the films informants have been direct or indirect victims of the Hurricane, including Charles Robin who died in January 2006.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Manuel Mora Morales was born in Canary Islands in 1952. He has spent many years as a writer, editor and filmmaker and is currently President of the Canarian Editors Association. His most important work has been writing and directing the documentary series La Ruta del Gofio: History of the Canarian Migration. The first part of the series has been televised TV several times (Television Autonomica Canaria). Mora Morales is currently still working on the subject of the Canarian migration to the United States.
Duration : 0:9:59
Actually the Cajuns …
Actually the Cajuns aren’t the same people as these Canary Island descendants. Castillion is Spanish not French. The Cajuns are from ARCADIA, the fromer French COLONY called New Brunswick,Canada today. Like the Native Americans, “Injuns” The Arcadians, “Cajuns” were slaughtered and chased out by the British. In the 17th Century they escaped via the Mississippi down to Louisiana, where like the Creole’s and west Africans, they isolated themselves from the outside world as best they could.
the same people …
the same people that are known as cajuns. they are of french descent.
is there a place to …
is there a place to watch this without the watermark on it?
My mother side of …
My mother side of the family is exclusively from the Canary Islands which then immigrated to Puerto Rico, where I was born. Listening to the people in the video was like hearing my Isleno family speak, even today. Great to see honest portrayals of people in the “new” world and not multi-cultural garbage that tells us nothing and is based on even less. Thanks for this great video…it is heartfelt.
I am from canary …
I am from canary island (Los Islenos) descent from St. Bernard Parish and I just stumbled upon this video. I’ve always heard of our history from the elders, but it was neat to see this. Thanks!
@aeseeke natives
@aeseeke natives
I am from SW …
I am from SW Louisiana and have always considered myself a well-read and we-educated person. However, I discovered tonight that the Louisiana History teachers of my youth did me a HUGE disservice! They never taught me about the great impact that Los Islenos have had on our state and the culture of Louisiana. In fact, tonight was the first time I knew of Canary Islanders settling in Louisiana. Trust me … I’m going to do all I can to learn more about the people and their heritage. Thanks!
6;26 sounds like …
6;26 sounds like old timers speaking puerto rican spanish
je ne comprends pas …
je ne comprends pas ce que vous avez juste dit
Entonces tendrás …
Entonces tendrás ambas nacionalidades ¿no? La española y la estadounidense ¿verdad?
Como da vueltas el …
Como da vueltas el mundo. Mis abuelos emigraron a Cuba de Canarias. Mis padres despues emigraron a los Estados Unidos, yo naci en Colorado en 1971. Cuando tenia un ano me mandaron a vivir a Tenerife, ahi me crie en La Laguna y Santa Cruz. Despues regrese a USA para la Universidad y mucho mucho despues en el 2005 (Katrina) estoy en el Army que fuimos destinados a rescatar gente justamente a Saint Bernard Parish a la parte en donde estan todos los Canarios y termino rescatando a uno.
aeseeke, Acadians …
aeseeke, Acadians were the original French inhabitants of Nova Scotia (Acadie), who were exiled by the English in 1755, and their descendents. Louisiana-born Acadians are called Cajuns.
Yes Puerto Rican …
Yes Puerto Rican Spanish is marked by Canary Island Spanish regionalisms, as well as Andalucian. Don’t let linguistic prejudice ever knock Puerto Rican Spanish. Also look at a map and look at where the Canary Islands are…closer to Northwest Africa than Spain…and where the Spanish first experimented with slave plantation labor and colonial administration before doing so in the Americas.
Pero que hacen …
Pero que hacen Canarios alla tan lejos…Que se vuelvan pa´ca que hace tiempo bueno y echense un vaso de Leche Con Gofio.
El Tete A Primera O Si Nena.
isn’t every thing …
isn’t every thing ignored about the south
Who are the …
Who are the Akadians?
yes! lol..it sounds …
yes! lol..it sounds VERY puerto rican…
i thought that the puerto rican accent was based on the native tainos of puerto rico influencing the spanish language but i heard that its the CANARY islanders that came to cuba/puerto rico that gave the puerto ricans their accent…its surprising…perhaps the islanders and other spaniards influenced LATIN america even more then i originally thought….like the food horchata/platanos etc
i know!…not all …
i know!…not all latinos/hispanics/spaniards
are the same…i count latino exclusively as latin american and hispanic including spain and spanish as only spain..but yeah i feel sorry for that man who died…imagine how U would feel if u were 1 of only 5 ppl in another country that was a great culture that now the generation forgot their culture died out and forgot their language it would suck…its VERY similar to what native latin americans do by tryina conserve their indian traditions.
me too…i guess …
me too…i guess they just dont have too many spaniards left in new orleans/louisiana :/
and even if they do they themselves differ from a canary islander a bit lol i wish they had more spaniards here…spain in this day is always seen as nothing or ignored…ppl forget that (MOST) latinos dnt even have any spanish blood and that spanish ppl r actually white bcuz they have too many latinos and not enough spaniards.
you made a good …
you made a good point!…and you canary islanders ive noticed ONLY refer to yourselves as canary islanders or islenos but not espanoles or spaniards/spanish/hispanic…
i went to a canary islander festival in st bernard parish only like late march this year it wasnt wat i expected but i rlly didnt know what to expect anywayz lol…and the culture seems rlly cool! i wanan go next year even tho im not a canary islander! lol
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I am a …
I am a Cuban-American, and I live in Tampa. It’s funny, but when people tell me that they get mad when they hear Spanish spoken because they believe in English should be the only language spoken. I tell them that Spanish has been spoken in these lands long before English ever was. It is very refreshing to see this video! Cubans and Canarios and identical in so many ways! LOL Que vive la cultura Española, Cubana y Frances aqui en Estados Unidos.
the canary islands.
the canary islands.
i myself am born in …
i myself am born in new orleans and am 1/2 spanish, 1/2 acadian.of course i can’t openly say that since most inhabitants of the u.s. are brainwashed to believe spaniards are mexicans. if i mention it, it suddenly becomes a huge dominating issue somehow. folks should see more educational videos like this.
beautiful, …
beautiful, important, and sad. I’m a New Orleanian working in St. Bernard on an art installation/garden and I am honored to be there. Thanks for posting this – wonderful work.