Isleño

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Isleño (plural isleños) (French: Îlois) is the Spanish word meaning "islander." The Isleños are the descendants of Canary Island immigrants of Louisiana. The name islander was given to the Canary Islanders to distinguished them from Spanish mainlanders known as "peninsulares." But in Louisiana, the name has evolved from a category to an identity. So much the name evolved to the point that when addressing the Canary Islanders of Louisiana, they would be referred to as the "Islenos", or "Los Isleños."

In Latin America, the Canary Islanders or "Canarians", are known as isleños as well. Another name to refer to a Canary Islander is "Canarian" in English, or "Canario" in Spanish, as well as Isleño Canario.

In Venezuela and the Spanish speaking Caribbean, the term "isleño" is still used to distinguish a Canary Islander from someone from continental Spain.

1 Louisiana Communities of the Isleños
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Louisiana Communities of the Isleños

Isleño settlements in Louisiana

In Louisiana, the Isleños are the descendants of Canary Islanders who migrated to Louisiana under the Spanish crown between 1778 and 1783. They settled near New Orleans in what is today St. Bernard Parish. Many of their descendants remained insulated from New Orleans, and continued to speak a rustic and antiquated Castilian well into the 20th century. The geographical isolation helped to preserve their language and traditions. Today, some Isleños still speak Spanish with a Canary Islander accent. The Canarian accent sounds extremely similar to Caribbean Spanish.

The Louisiana Isleños still maintain contact with the Canary Islands, and have an annual "Caldo" festival named for a native dish, in which native Canary Islanders travel to the United States to take part in the festivities. There have been Canarian dancers, singers, and even the King and Queen of Spain have attended. After Hurricane Katrina, the Spanish government in the Canary Islands donated money to help repair the Canary Islander museum in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, as well as historical properties.

[edit] St. Bernard (Terre aux Boeufs)

This settlement was first called La Concepción and Nueva Galvez by the Spanish officials, but later renamed Terre aux Boeufs (French), Tierra de Bueyes (Spanish) or "land of cattle". However, by the end of the 1780s, St. Bernard, the patron saint of Bernardo de Galvez, was used in documents describing the area. ^[1] The majority of the Isleño population were long concentrated in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, where some of the most traditional Isleño customs continued. Other Isleños have settled throughout Southeast Louisiana and the Greater New Orleans area. Many were displaced by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Traditional Isleño communities in St. Bernard include:

[edit] Barataria

[edit] Valenzuela

Originally referred to as "Valenzuela dans La Fourche", today the location is at the site of the Belle Alliance plantation. Traditional Isleño communities around Valenzuela include:

[edit] Galveztown

In 1778, during the American Revolution, the Spanish were not pleased with the amount of commerce that was bypassing New Orleans via Bayou Manchac. The Spanish Governor of the Isle of Orleans, Don Bernardo de Galvez, allowed Americans fleeing the hostilities in the colonies to establish a village on high ground they discovered just below the juncture of Bayou Manchac and the Amite River. The grateful villagers named their settlement "Galveztown." ^[2]

By 1779, Galvez realized the strategic importance of Galveztown and began bringing in Spanish Settlers from the Canary Islands. He also had troops move in a garrison constructed around the town. But by 1800, Galveztown was abandoned and the settlers moved to Baton Rouge. The area they settled there became known as "Spanish Town" and is where the Pentagon Barracks now stand. Many Isleños today still have contacts with the Canary Islands.

Traditional Isleño communities around Galveztown include:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ Din, Gilbert "The Canary Islanders of Louisiana", 1988
^ www.geocities.com "History of Bayou Manchac, also called the Iberville River, Akankia, Ascantia, Manchacque, or Massiac"

[edit] External links

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* All countries is arranged by classifies of United Nation^[1] and United States Census Bureau^[2]

^† Basque Country spans the border between France and Spain but not border Mediterranean. And Basque language is the official language here. Federal government of the United States is also classified Basque people^[3] is a separate ethnic group, neither Spanish nor French.^[4]

^†† Iranian Armenians and Iranian Azeris live outside Europe. Armenia and Azerbaijan are transcontinental countries

^††† Most American Jews originate in Europe, but a number come from other places, especially Israel and North Africa.

^†††† Turkey is a transcontinental country. ^ Din, Gilbert "The Canary Islanders of Louisiana", 1988 ^ www.geocities.com "History of Bayou Manchac, also called the Iberville River, Akankia, Ascantia, Manchacque, or Massiac"

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