This And That: Zulu Queen Desiree Rogers, Peace, Oprah Folding, French Cafes

My desk top is cluttered with images that I collect as they interest me. I'm a visual person, so I guess I'm kind of a glorified caption writer of sorts. I like to find pictures, and then find a story around them. I've been lost in the black hole that is Google Images for more hours than I want to own up to.
Pre Katrina New Orleans is really coming along. The service that delivered the New York Times is finally back, so after a small lapse of three and half years, I am getting my paper delivered again. There is nothing more satisfying than reading The Times in hand, and tearing out articles that pique my interest.
Friends and the hubs also send me things, and this morning the darling man sent me a very nice story from our local rag, The Times Picayune.
President -Elect Barack Obama has named a New Orleans woman his Social Secretary! Desiree Rogers, a former New Orleans Zulu queen and daughter of the late city councilman Roy Glapion Jr., was named incoming White House Social Secretary on Monday.

Desiree Rogers
photo from The Black Socialite
which fails to mention that Desiree is from New Orleans
from an old family with an esteemed Creole name of Glapion
dating back to the origins of New Orleans.
Marie Laveau the famous Voodoo queen
is part of the Glapion family too.

The White House Social Secretary is responsible for the planning, coordination and execution of official social events at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States.

Queen Zulu Desiree

The Social Secretary is head of the White House Social Office, located in the East Wing of the White House Complex. The Social Secretary plans events ranging from those as simple as a tea for the First Lady and a single official guest, to dinners for more than 200 guests.

Letitia Baldridge Social Secretary to the Kennedys

The Social Secretary works with the White House Chief Usher to coordinate domestic staff and with the Chief of Protocol of the United States, an official within the United States Department of State, to plan state visits and accompanying state dinners. The Social Secretary works with the White House Graphics and Calligraphy Office in the production of invitations to social events. The Social Secretary works on both the non-political functions of the presidency and the political, coordinating events for the President, the First Lady, and senior political staff. The White House Social Secretary serves at the president's pleasure and is appointed by each administration. (from Wikipedia)
The president's pleasure! How perfect that Ms. Rogers was the queen of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club!
When we first arrived in New Orleans there were so many things to learn.
I saw signs on buildings around town using the words" social aid and pleasure club" and asked my trusty guides Sabina and Aaron and Eddie what it all meant HERE.
The first time I saw Zulu parade on Mardi Gras, I was astonished by their appearance. What is up with black face and coconuts?
I learned that anyone of any race can put on black face and toss coconuts and ride in Zulu (for the price of the ride and buying all the trinkets and beads to throw).
There are alternate parallel universes here in New Orleans, that on a bad day smack of vestiges of vintage Jim Crow, but on a good day are the choice of how the people choose to party.
We are so proud of Desiree Rogers, and for her family! Maybe it won't be just another Tuesday in the White House, when Mardi Gras rolls around!

Another thing that's on the desk top, are some pictures having to do with the 50th anniversary of the peace sign.

The symbol was created by the designer Gerald Holtom. A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Holtom was a conscientious objector in World War II. On 21 February 1958 he designed the Nuclear Disarmament logo for the first Aldermaston March, organised by the Direct Action Committee against Nuclear War, Easter 1958.
The logo was not copyrighted, and was available for use by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, also founded in 1958; it later became known in the wider world as a general-purpose peace symbol. The design was a combination of the letters "N" (two arms outstretched pointing down at 45 degrees) and "D" (one arm upraised above the head) of the flag semaphore alphabet, standing for nuclear disarmament.
I was about the age of the baby being carried in this photo, when the peace sign was invented. As a young high school and art school student, it became a part of my visual vernacular.
This book (from whence I got these photos) would be a wonderful Christmas gift HERE

Barney's in New York had Simon Doonan do up their Christmas windows again this year, and he has chosen the peace sign annivesary as his muse.

Barney's also has a treasure trove of merchandise like this pillow, and a Fornasetti plate commissioned especially for the occasion.

The next thing on the desk top, is the news that the magazine "O At Home" is folding. The New York Times reports: In a statement on Friday, the company said, “We have decided to consolidate the editorial content of quarterly spinoff O at Home back into the flagship magazine.” Much of the magazine’s staff will move to another Hearst publication, Country Living, including the editor in chief, Sarah Gray Miller, who will take the same post at Country Living.
And speaking of folding, apparently the French cafe as an institution in France is in deep trouble.
Universally know and beloved as an icon of France so popular that it is imitated all over the world, they are closing down in droves as the habits and customs and economy of France changes. You can read about it HERE
Pretty soon we will only have replicas, and photos in books to remind us of this once great and seemingly enduring way of life.
These images are by Carla Coulson of Carla Loves Photography
Carla is a very talented and gifted photographer, and she has a new book out now that shows her beautiful and special back story of Paris. It's only out on amazon UK and Canada, and hopefully soon amazon USA will offer it too.
Below is a random photo from my clipping file of a French cafe. It's a classic for sure, a neighborhood kind of place where you could have a coffee or an aperitif, and a cigarette.
Cafes in Paris (and Buenos Aires) are always such a go-to solution for inexpensive and tasty food at any time of the day or night. Havens for readers and journal scribblers, as well as meeting places and extended living rooms for cramped city dwellers, they have been a boon and mainstay for over 100 years. It's sad to think of them going by the wayside in France of all places.
Okay, the desk top has been cleared off for now! Enjoy your day...
...and to paraphrase the great Don Cornelius with something I say to end our tango classes: Peace, Love, and Tango!!!!

Paris Tango

I first "met" Carla Coulson when I did a posting for Vicki Archer's wonderful book "My French Life" HERE.

Carla did the fabulous photography, and we exchanged a few e-mails, and I looked at her work on her web site HERE. She told me then, that her new book called "Paris Tango" was coming out in a few months.

Carla Coulson

Paris Tango! Wow! I wanted to know more, like was it really a book about tango. The hubs and I had been to Paris and had gone tango dancing there, so we know a big Argentine tango scene is there. Well, "Paris Tango" the book, is not really about the tango dance or culture, but about the tango of life in Paris, as seen though Carla's lens and experience.
Paris Tango takes us on a very personal journey into the heart of the city; from an insider's take on her local neighbourhood, the vibrant Marais and behind-the-scenes at the Moulin Rouge to the contemporary artists, couturiers and perfumers who continue upholding the legacy of Paris' reputation as being at the cutting edge of style. Carla interviews the gatekeepers of all things French, including: Moulin Rouge owner Jacki Clerico; master perfumer Frederic Malle; couture genius Francois Lesage; renowned florist Djordje Varda; lingerie high priestess Chantal Thomass; and, architect Renzo Piano, whose masterpiece, the Pompidou Centre has become part of Paris' iconography. Carla also introduces her readers to Parisian locals such as her salsa teacher, landlady and boulanger, as well as just a few of the Parisian dog owners who give Paris its reputation for being the city of dog poop.
Carla has several beautiful photos of showgirls from the Moulin Rouge on her web site, some of which will appear in "Paris Tango". I wanted to do a story about these photos then, but had to wait for the book to be a reality as per the publisher. It's now up on amazon.uk, so Carla gave me the go ahead to use some Moulin Rouge photos.
I have been fascinated with the Moulin Rouge since I was a little girl. I was a professional child performer. My mother was a ballet dancer, taken away from her career by my birth, and the subsequent role of mother and wife.
Not as talented as my mother, I suffered years of classes, and auditions, but somehow managed to get work due to the diligence of my mother managing my career. I did not aspire to a career as a ballet dancer.
My secret lust was for black fishnet showgirl tights I once saw an older dancer wear. I tried to wear them in my child level ballet class, and was sent from the room in disgrace, to change into the more appropriate baby pink tights.
My mother still danced at fund raisers, PTA shows etc., but not alone. She and I had a mother daughter act. Our act was a Can-Can. We wore identical costumes, she the larger sexy dancer, and myself cast as the adorable mini me high kicker.
Somewhere in there was the Hollywood bio pick "Moulin Rouge" with José Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Suzanne Flon. This fictional account of French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec captivated me on two levels: One being the life of an artist and of Lautrec's astonishing work, and the other of the Moulin Rouge and its showgirls.
For years I secretly dreamed of the day I could audition for the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, the closet thing to the MR girls that I could get. I had no clue as to Las Vegas then. And the Rockettes were just a subway ride away.
An injury curtailed my professional dance career at an early age of 20. I managed a few jobs until I was into my 30's, but I didn't have the required chops to audition for the Rockettes.
At age 22 I took my first trip to Europe, and made a pilgrimage to Paris, and the Marais, and the Moulin Rouge. It was fabulous and a little seedy then, and I had never seen girls bare their breasts in such an artful way. I was an artist's model all through art school, and artful nudity was something I knew a thing or two about.
I fancied myself as a real life character out of a Lautrec vignette! What an imagination I had! My inner movie played with me starring in scenes of an old timey Paris chock full of artists and their models and muses and lovers.
Many trips to Paris ensued after the first one, and as the years passed the showgirl dreams were modified. I did a stint as a singer in a Rock band in the heyday of 1980's bands. It satisfied that old show girl itch, though I still always managed to catch the show at the Moulin Rouge when I visited Paris (as recently as 2004).
I also loved The Crazy Horse Saloon girls, but to me the Moulin Rouge was the epitome. I also had made it to Las Vegas by then, and saw the Vegas show girls, who I admired, but not in the same way as the French girls. The French girls always held the big magic, the cachet, the mystere.
So when I asked Carla if she would please send me some Moulin Rouge photos, I was thrilled to say the least, to have this Paris tango with her.
Join Paris-based Australian photographer, Carla Coulson as she celebrates the launch of "Paris Tango" the latest in her acclaimed series of photographic books.

Published by Penguin, and a follow-up to her hugely popular previous books, "Italian Joy" and "My French Life", "Paris Tango" is a portrait of the City of Light as you have never seen it before.
From the African street markets of Chateau Rouge to the penthouse suite of the Paris Ritz, Coulson and her camera uncover a Paris that is rarely seen.

Join Carla at this champagne cocktail party as she presents and signs her book - and show your support for yet another Aussie making a splash in the City of Light.

Thursday 4 December

7.30pm

WH Smith

248 rue de Rivoli

Paris, 75001

Nearest metro: Concorde

RSVP is essential HERE.

What Have You Been Up To Carla Coulson?

I recently wrote a note to Carla Coulson the photographer who took the photos for Vicki Archer's "My French Life" HERE. Carla's photos and Vicki's story are a perfect blend, and one could not be as beautiful as they are without the other.

I believe Carla is Australian (as is Vicki Archer). She has a beautiful web site HERE and a blog too - take a look HERE! She has her own book too, "Italian Joy", which you can get HERE

"Be swept away by Carla Coulson's luscious life in Italy. A visual delight that takes you into the heart of Italian life and culture. One can almost smell the delicious Italian coffee, hear the sounds of the warm, beautiful Italian voices echoing through the streets and delight in the vivid colours at the fresh food markets. Embrace the beauty of Italy through "Italian Joy". Carla really captures the heart of Italy through her beautiful photos and text. Go on a journey through this gorgeous country, meet the people and discover the heart of Italy".
(Amazon review)



Carla replied to my letter with the following:

Dear Valorie, Many thanks for contacting me regarding your blog. I had a look, it's fantastic and you did an incredible piece on My French Life. Thanks for that.I will send you a couple of separate email with images, some from Italian Joy, some fashion I do with Italian magazines and some photos I like. Take your pick.I have been living in Paris now for about three years working for Australian, Italian and English Magazines. I have managed to squeeze in shooting My French Life and my latest book on Paris that will be released in October this year called Paris Tango. It is a collection of images of contemporary Paris and there are photographs and interviews with Parisians about Haute Couture, Moulin Rouge, The Marais, Photography, Gardens, dogs and more....I would be pleased to answer any questions you have and you can have a look ato my blog, that might give you an idea of what I have been up to lately.
Best of luck and I look forward to hearing from you, Carla


Thanks for writing Carla, and thanks for sharing your wonderful work with all of us! I can hardly wait for your new book "Paris Tango"!!!

Fashion photo by Carla Coulson

Photo taken in Italy by Carla Coulson

Positano by Carla Coulson

Paris: Hotel Ritz from "My French Life"

Fashion photo by Carla Coulson

My Non French Life

While so many of you are going to the beach, or travelling elsewhere for your Summer vacation, we are staying at home. We travel most of the year for our work as traveling tango teachers, and though it's not exactly a vacation, it certainly fulfills the travel quota for wanderlust. We also live in a warm place, where Summer comes early and stays long, which kind of dulls the urge to run off somewhere else warm.
Ever since childhood, my vacation consisted of reading good books. Summer vacation, when school was out, was my favorite time of year to go to the library, choose my books, and then curl up inside or outside and read the Summer away.

"My French Life" by Vicki Archer (and photographs by Carla Coulson) was the darling book of all the girly lifestyle and decor bloggers last Summer. I picked it up again, and read it again, and really enjoyed it again. It's part coffee table book and part story telling book. I love the feel of it - when you remove the dust jacket you see a reproduction of an old quilt, and the book cover and back is actually quilted, and feels soft and squishy. It's a nice little detail.
Vicki Archer and her family are Australian, but now live full time in France and England (London). She is a traveler, and along the way she found her dream French farm house, and convinced her family to buy it and fix it up. Of course it was a ruin, and of course she found all the perfect work men and women to help her make it the picture of charm and perfection she shares with us in the book.
The stories are charming and the photos are pretty. Vicky takes us from Paris to the French country side. She shares her shopping haunts, as she looks for furnishings for her home.
She shares her family's love for the French lifestyle, very much involved with enjoying nature, enjoying food and markets, enjoying small town and big city life, and most of all enjoying each other.
I have been to France a few times, and I love Paris, and I love the French - they truly put style into life in every way. It is every girl's dream to own a farm house like Vicki's. While it may not become a reality for most of us, it is so pleasant to look through the pages of this book, into the perfect French farm house lifestyle as realized by ex-pats who can afford it.

Lavender and olive trees on the property
How perfect!

Window boxes in Paris
I know exactly where this is!

One of my favorite stories has to do with Vicki and her Hermes bag (purse) going through security at the Paris airport. Like many non native speakers, she gets flustered with the language when she's under pressure. A stern looking security guard demanded to know whose bag (the Hermes) was coming down the conveyor belt, and at first Vicki didn't understand, and when she did, she felt panic, as if she had done something wrong. The guard ended up flashing a smile, and complimenting her on her beautiful Hermes bag. You have to love a man who loves a Kelly Birkin!
So, here I am, an arm chair traveller this Summer. Plane tickets cost too much. On time flights vanish as Summer thunderstorms erupt. Gas for the car costs too much. Food costs too much.
So we hunker down in our pretty New Orleans house, and I cook my favorite French woman's lunches, and if it's nice I'll set a pretty table outside in the yard, and we'll sip an aperitif of Kir or Lillet, and toast the wonderful Summer.
I've posted alot of photos from the book for you. You can also go to Vicki's web site www.vickiarcher.com There's not much there, just a few photos from the book, but it's still worth looking at. I wish she had a blog! If you don't have this book, treat yourself and get it HERE

The dining room....

...where meals are shared and savored.

Vicki's living room - stone floors, stone mantle,
perfect comfort and symmetry