36 (D-26) Houma / Cambrai... and an introduction to Cajun food

Welcome to Houma.
The area is famous for its food, fishing, swamps, music and hospitality.  Houma is also known for its Mardi Gras festivities.

Houma has a population of about 37,000.
It has an elevation of 10 feet (3m)!

Before the Civil War, the area was developed for plantations, where the work was done by enslaved African Americans.  Since the late 19th century, the Houma area has become more industrialized and has developed trade, but many residents in the surrounding communities continue to make their living as their ancestors did, as shrimpers, oystermen, crabbers, fishermen and trappers.  More people there are beginning to work in occupations of the oil industry and ship building.

Houma and the surrounding communities are filled with Cajun tradition and culture, a creolization of Native American, Acadian and African traditions.  (More on the Cajuns later.)

Did you see the film 2013 The Butler?  If so, you visited Houma because several scenes were filmed in downtown Houma.  Did you see the 2003 film Beasts of the Southern Wild?  The little girl in the film, Quvenzhané Wallis, is from Houma.
Have you ever been to Cambrai?  This city in northern France has been twinned with Houma since 1986!

FOOD:  A crawfish boil.  Like for a barbecue, many people get together to prepare and eat steamed crawfish with corn on the cob, often with Cajun music and Cajun dancing.  In France, it's moules-frites!

http://www.myinvisiblecrown.com/2013/02/24/perfect-crawfish-boil-recipe/
http://www.cajuncrawfish.com/how-to-boil-crawfish.htm

Jane, who is getting hungry preparing this post.
_______________________
-swamps = marais
-hospitality =  accueil
-if so = dans ce cas
-crawfish = écrevisses
-corn on the cob = épis de maïs