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New Orleans, no contest. I just love NOLA - the food, music, culture. It's the best.
THIS. I went to New Orleans for my first time this past August and fell in love with the city, can't even imagine how much I would like fall, winter, and spring.
The food was out of this world, the architecture was jaw dropping, and the music was awesome(although I am a huge fan of jazz so I might be biased). The culture that I experienced in New Orleans/the aura that is in the air there can not be replicated anywhere else in this world.
Overall, I'd agree with AnnieHimself. Perhaps NO is more distinguished. But Miami doesn't get enough credit for the localized culture it developed. There's all sorts of cultural melange in Miami and South Florida in general. The African-American community for one, outside of the Black foreigners like Haitians/Jamaicans/etc, is a mixture of Blacks from Georgia, NC, and Black Bahamians. Just going into neighborhoods like Liberty City and Overtown, and seeing the abundance of Conch places, you can see that the Black-American population has roots in the Bahamas. Rappers like Uncle Luke, who have Jamaican and Bahamian roots, basically created Miami based on those influences. "Floribbean" Cuisine is also an indicator of the cultural combo that Miami presents. Southern and West Indian influence is prime in Floribbean cuisine. There's all sorts of Creoles, Bahamians, Jewbans, Culturally-Southern influenced Haitians/Jamaicans/Afro-Latinos/etc in South Florida. Just listen to Pitbulls music before he reached Super Stardom. He was basically a Cuban-American doing Southern Hip-Hop. Allpattah is filled with Latinos influenced by Black Miami Southerners.
Tropical barbacoa[edit]
A fusion of Floribbean barbecue and Latin-Floribbean cuisine, tropical barbacoa blends Cuban, Puerto Rican, Jamaican, Bahamian,and American Deep South barbecue cuisines. This is another of the three regional barbecue styles in Florida, found mainly in Southern Florida, and the second of two influenced by Caribbean cuisines. This is also the only Floridian barbecue style that is also influenced by Latin American cuisine. One example of this style would be pechuga de pollo a la plancha (grilled chicken breast seasoned with citrus juice). The rodizio is also very commonly utilized in this barbecue style.
Blacks are probably the only ethnic group in Miami that developed a culture within Miami/South Florida itself; Black Americans mostly being descendants of the Geechee (Low-Country Carolina and Georgia), combined that with West Indian cultures (Haitian, Bahamian, Jamaican) and it generates a local culture within that particular area. The accents, music, hairstyles, etc. Even influencing the local Latinos as well. But I don't think it's on par with New Orleans distinctive culture
Quote:
Originally Posted by i'm not a cookie
The culture that I experienced in New Orleans/the aura that is in the air there can not be replicated anywhere else in this world.
Exactly; from the Scenery, to the actual Cultural aspects.
New Orleans and Miami were cities that were once both colonized by Spain, Spaniards, and Spanish peoples. To this day, one can notice the Spanish influence in both cities.
New Orleans and Miami were cities that were once both colonized by Spain, Spaniards, and Spanish peoples. To this day, one can notice the Spanish influence in both cities.
Actually New Orleans was founded by the French in 1718 and was part of the Louisiana Purchase which makes up a huge part of the US Midwest today hence Detroit as well.
Florida was colonized by Spain (Pascua Florida) and was a sanctuary colony for black slaves fleeing the American South if they converted to Catholicism and were granted freedom under Spain.
Miami didn't exist when Spain controlled Florida and it didn't exist when the US took over Florida in 1845. The city of Miami was founded in July of 1896 when Standard Oil founder Henry Flagler built his Florida East Coast Railroad from Jacksonville to Key West and set up resorts along his rail line.
Flagler was from New York and was a Yankee who marketed his resorts to wealthy people from the North. Miami has always had very strong cultural ties to New York & it's influence in addition to a Caribbean influence since most of the railroad workers came from the Bahamas.
I would say New Orleans and I've lived in Miami. No other city is like New Orleans in the USA. Miami does not have the history New Orleans has. Miami is a new money flashy town. Great to party and club. But New Orleans party scene is not as pretentious. You go to the French Quarter to let loose, drink, and party like you want. Don't have to worry about the South Beach bouncers trying to decide if you look good enough to get in. The Miami food is good, but I feel I can get on a cheap plane ride to San Juan and experience the same or fly to Cancun and enjoy just as much with better beaches. All unique in their own ways, but NOLA should be on top for this.
In my experience most of Miami's cultural aspects are transplanted and borrowed from other cultures, which shouldn't be a surprise since the city itself isn't very old. Hell, even Jazz is older than the city of Miami. Miami wasn't even founded until almost 50 years after the Cuban flag was flown for the first time (in New Orleans).
The best way I can think of wording it is that Miami is like a melting pot of different cultures before you apply heat; it's simply not been around long enough for those cultures to blend into each other.
That being said I personally find Miami to be pretentious and honestly "douchey."
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