Arts & Culture
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Congo Square stands in the vicinity of a place the Houmas Indians used before the arrival of the French to celebrate their annual corn harvest, and it was considered sacred ground. The gathering of enslaved African vendors there began as early as the late 1740's during Louisiana’s French colonial period and continued during the Spanish colonial era as one of the city’s public markets. By 1803 it had become famous for Sunday afternoon gatherings of enslaved Africans who drummed, danced, sang, and traded. By 1819, these gatherings numbered as many as 500 to 600 people. Among the most famous dances were the Bamboula, the Calinda, and the Congo. These African cultural expressions gradually developed into Mardi Gras Indian traditions, the Second Line, and eventually New Orleans jazz and rhythm and blues. Congo Square was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 28, 1993.
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New Orleans, Louisiana · United States
