Denise Augustine: Growing Up in Italian and Afro-Creole New Orleans

1113 Chartres Street,New Orleans LA 70116

16 March, 2022

Description

Denise Augustine of Our Sacred Stories shares the interconnected history of New Orleans' Italian and Afro Creole communities. We welcome historian and tour guide Denise Augustine to BK House on Wednesday, March 16 at 6pm! In conjunction with our bountiful St. Joseph's Altar that will be on display, Denise will give a lecture centered on the interconnectedness of Creole and Italian cultures. As a seventh generation Creole griot, she was born and raised in Tremé and the French Quarter when the two neighborhoods were filled with Afro-Creoles and Italians. These two communities lived closely together, sharing a common religion and love of food and family. Born in the 1950's, Denise is an eyewitness to this melting pot when the neighborhood was still very much mixed. As the owner of the tour company Our Sacred Stories, Denise has been guiding walking tours in New Orleans for more than 20 years. Active in the local Voodoo community and as a Black Masking Babydoll, she connects her audiences to the authentic cultures and histories of New Orleans like nobody else. Having learned the art of storytelling through years of sitting at her grandmother’s kitchen table prepping for dinner in a small shotgun house in the Tremé, she is an expert at entertaining and engaging visitors with the unsung stories of New orleans. Denise has been a guest lecturer on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic. She has taught throughout the city on Creole history and traditions, including Voodoo and Hoodoo rites and rituals. With every tour, she uses her deep connections to New Orleans’ communities to bring you closer to the city’s best food, music, cultures, and traditions.