[StBernard] Islenos Festival kicks off Friday afternoon in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

Islenos Festival kicks off Friday afternoon in St. Bernard Parish

Published: Friday, March 16, 2012, 8:36 AM     Updated: Friday, March 16,
2012, 8:36 AM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

The 36th annual Isleños Festival kicks off Friday at noon in eastern St.
Bernard Parish, on the grounds of Los Isleños Museum Complex, 1345 Bayou
Road in St. Bernard Village. The festival will last through 8 p.m. Sunday
and includes a variety of local seafood, Spanish and Canary Island dishes,
music, crafts and historic re-enactments and exhibits.

The restored Isleños historic village, in the rear of Los Isleños Museum,
once more will hold a series of living history demonstrations showing folk
crafts, historic dialects and depictions of cultural identity.
Representatives of the Houma Nation also will interpret the history, culture
and folk traditions of the Houma Tribe.

The Isleños are Spanish settlers from the Canary Islands who first settled
in St. Bernard in the late 1700s. San Bernardo, the most successful of four
Isleño settlements, was established along the banks of Bayou
Terre-aux-Bouefs. The Isleño farmers of San Bernardo provided the New
Orleans market with the majority of garlic, onions, beans, potatoes and
poultry consumed in the city in the late 18th and early 19th centuries,
according to The Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society.

Throughout the ensuing centuries, the Isleño identity in Louisiana has
evolved, in part through its interaction with surrounding ethnic groups and
cultures.

A detailed schedule and description of festival events is available on the
Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society website by clicking here.

Los Cabuqueros de Arucas, a traditional Canarian folk dance group, and Los
Cebolleros, a Canarian folk music group, both from Gran Canaria Island, will
perform between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. this afternoon and between 2:30 p.m. and 4
p.m. Sunday. Both groups perform frequently in Spain and throughout Europe
and work to document the historic music, clothing and dance of the Canaries.
They will present a traditional repertoire of dances including the isa,
folia, Canarian mazurka and polka.

The Los Isleños Historic Village consists of seven historic and replica
structures relocated to the museum complex: the Coconut Island Barroom,
Estopinal House and Kitchen, Esteves House and the Cresap-Caserta House.
Each building and the surrounding grounds will have farming, alligator
hunting, trapping, boat building, trawl making, basket weaving, Teneriffe
lace making and quilting displays.

There's a $3 entry fee for anyone older than 11.

For more information, contact Fiesta Chairman Hugh P. Pentney at
504.251.2040 or hughbev1021 at gmail.com; Fiesta Co-Chairperson Rhonda R.
Hannan at 504,615.9322 or rhondahannan at yahoo.com; or Los Islenos Society
President Lloyd "Wimpy" Serigne at 504.251.6322 or wimpyserigne at yahoo.com.

The Isleños Museum regularly is open to the public Wednesdays through
Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment by calling 504.676.3098 or
504.277.4681.

A general festival schedule of events is as follows: 

 

SATURDAY, MARCH 17, 2012

12 p.m.: Parish President David Peralta and Isleño Society President Wimpy
Serigne officially open ceremony.

12:30 p.m.: Los Isleños Senior Heritage Program

1 p.m. – 3 p.m.: Fredy Omar Con Su Banda

3 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Los Cabuqueros de Arucas and Los Cebolleros

4 p.m. – 8 p.m.: The Top Cats



SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2012

12 p.m.: Junior Heritage Program

12:30 p.m.: Ovi-G and The Froggies

2:30 – 4 p.m.: Los Cabuqueros de Arucas and Los Cebolleros

4 p.m. – 8 p.m.: August Rush

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