TOO LOUD, TOO WILD? NEGOTIATING CAJUN CULTURAL REPRESENTATIONS

Abstract

With chapters in Louisiana, Texas, and Illinois, the Cajun French Music Association, established in 1984 to preserve and promote traditional Cajun culture, is active in Cajun ethnic revival and cultural advocacy. But variation within the Cajun population makes determining the traditional and its representations problematic. This article discusses negotiations of Cajun cultural representations during the first two decades of the CFMA's existence. Cultural ideals held by the association founders and leaders, primarily middle-aged and elderly Cajuns from southwest Louisiana, are not universally shared by CFMA members. Disjunction between organizational ideals and conflicting perspectives has led to intracultural crises of representation. Resistance to organizational dictates and ensuing debates provide a framework for understanding the negotiations of traditional representations.