New Orleans Cultural Totems
Popular culture and capitalism blurs in NOLA.
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival held in 2025 between April 24 and May 4 is, obviously, an orgy for the senses.
With so much to hear, taste, and see, even the most experienced fester needs a "North Star" to guide them to a safe space. Hence why, the seemingly random placement of flags, or totems, are spread across the panoramic of the Fair Grounds.
Defined as "a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people," totem concepts, like Mardi Gras floats, can be taken from current events, local happenings, satire, mythology, or national, ethnic, and religious affiliations.
"Yellow is the color the eye sees first," and we all know its role in our Mardi Gras color palette: gold for power, green is faith, while purple is justice. This also rings true with some of the New Orleanian totems.
K&B PURPLE
Regarding purple, whose connotation evokes sumptuousness and royalty, New Orleans, as usual, flipped the script. Any native New Orleanian knows the precursor of drug stores—K&B. Founded in 1905 by Gustave Katz & Sydney Besthoff at 732 Canal St., the iconic chain has inspired collections, recollections, and even exhibits.
Lore has it that Mrs. Besthoff, to cut costs, bought the store's wallpaper during a clearance sale, and little did she know the lasting impact this would have on generations of New Orleanians. When Rite Aid purchased K&B in 1997, some locals boycotted to show solidarity for their beloved brand.
To further demonstrate how a totem can transmute itself into something greater than the sum of its parts, the Bestoffs donated the vacant K&B headquarters and warehouse at 900 Camp St. to form the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center, as well as the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden adjoining the New Orleans Museum of Art.
DOG DAYS ARE HERE
Based on the legend of the rougarou, a swamp-dwelling werewolf, George Rodrigue's Blue Dog art takes cues from Andy Warhol-style pop art and combines it with a bit of Cajun sensitivity. Rodrigue once said, "The Blue Dog was born out of the need to express a feeling of loneliness. In a way, it is symbolic of myself, and I see it as a reflection of who I am and how I feel."
The documentary Blue: The Life and Art of George Rodrigue, which won Best Southern Feature Audience Award at the 2024 New Orleans Film Festival, features local luminaries and other totems, such as: Drew Brees, Emeril Lagasse, and James Carville.
WHEN I CHIP, YOU CHIP, WE CHIP
From kettle chips in Boston to kale in California, almost every locale has its go-to "crisp." In NOLA's case, it is Zapp's.
With locally inspired names and flavors such as "Cajun Dill Gator-Tators," "Spicy Cajun Crawtators," and "Voodoo Heat," Zapp's plays around with Cajun tastes as it rejoices in its own identity with colorful packaging and a proprietary font that was created from an unknown's handwriting.
"My wife, Anne, thought I'd gone nuts," Founder Ron Zappe said, according to his obituary in the Times-Picayune. "But I told her, 'No, not nuts—chips.'"
Zapp's are now available nationwide, and Southern Living labeled Zapp's chips "the gold standard of snacking."
A-MUSE-MENT
From the coveted coconuts thrown by Zulu riders on Mardi Gras morning to much more, a culture of must-have, Mardi Gras trinkets have created a market of frenzied paradegoers desperate to demonstrate parade prowess, social connections, and hardcore gumption.
Another NOLA totem, which in some opinions summarizes the omnipresent situation of the city's fickle mood, are the Shakespearean masks of Tragedy & Comedy, which also frequently appear in Mardi Gras materials. Comedy is the realm of the Grecian muse Thalia while Melpomene represents Tragedy, as well as some pretty (in)famous Uptown streets.
FROM THE ASHES
From beignets to Aunt Sally's Pralines, sweet treats are also an integral part of the New Orleans palate. Their iconic status in the lexicon of NOLA makes them eternally viable. Yet, one brand also synthesizes with New Orleans' cycle of resiliency and rebirth.
While we all know that water can be destructive, sometimes other elements can fan the flames as Hubig's Pies resurrected itself in 2022 after a devastating fire in 2012.
Parisian-trained artist Lilian Lovich became a "guerilla totem-er" as she developed homemade (not) Hubig's Pies for family and friends during the holidays. She said, "The pies are comfort food in not just the physical sense but also the creative and connected space that surrounds New Orleans."
Hubig's Pies staple flavors are: apple, lemon, peach, pineapple, chocolate, and coconut, while seasonal flavors range between sweet potato, strawberry, banana, cherry, blueberry, and raspberry.
Miniaturization, commodification, gentrification, or modification all contribute to an organic evolution of tastes, colors, identity, and culture. Whether developed from pure originality or simply manifesting what lies within, totems carry more weight than the simple flags that proudly fly them. Like the high-flying totems at Jazz Fest, they rally our kith and kin while grounding us to our home.
