Cajun Document: Acadiana, 1973–74

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Photo by Douglas Baz and Charles H. Traub; Courtesy of the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, Breaux Bridge, 1974.

It doesn't take long for Louisiana's mystique to take hold. In 1973, two photographers stumbled upon Acadiana on a road trip, captured a bit of it, and were then consumed by the need to return. In 1974, Douglas Baz and Charles Traub abandoned their jobs and returned for six months, driving back roads to the swamps, towns, plains, bayous, and trails of south Louisiana. 

Today, the results of that captivation—hundreds of photographs taken inside Acadian residents dance halls, stores, and homes, capturing the industries, festivities, and geography of the region—are finally compiled, fifty years later, in the project's first comprehensive exhibition and book, Cajun Document: Acadiana, 1973–74. 

The exhibition will be on display at the Historic New Orleans Collection from April 3–October 11. hnoc.org.