Texas Cajuns keep heritage alive through language, music and food, musician says

In Southeast Texas, Cajun culture is being kept alive not just through memories, but through everyday life — in the language people speak, the music they play and the food they share.

Port Arthur native and Cajun-born bass player Aaron Sterling says culture is something meant to be lived. “We are a very hardworking people, God-fearing people. We love to live and experience life while we’re here,” Sterling said.

Sterling said strong ties to religion helped bring Cajun people to America, with Cajuns establishing themselves in Louisiana as early as 1755 — a culture that later spread into Southeast Texas.

Sterling described the history of the Acadian people who settled in Nova Scotia and were Catholic. “The Grands D’Angermain was whenever the British came to Canada, the Acadian people that settled in Nova Scotia were Catholic. The British wanted them to swear allegiance to the British Crown and become Anglican, or Protestant, if they wanted to remain on their land,” Sterling said.

When the Acadians refused, women and children were shipped to Louisiana, leaving men to travel nearly eight years by foot to reunite with their families. Sterling said that story remains prevalent for many Cajuns today. “There’s a poem written about that called Evangeline. And we talk about Evangeline in some of the songs that we sing,” he said.

Sterling said music remains a vital tool in preserving Cajun culture, with traditional songs helping provide identity for Cajun communities and helping keep the language alive. “Stepping on this age and being able to sing in French for me is a chance to live unabashedly proud of my culture. I love seeing people enjoy it. I love seeing the children dance,” Sterling said.

That pride, he said, has helped hold pieces of Cajun culture together through tradition, music and Cajun cuisine. Sterling said Cajun food is more than a spice or flavor — it represents history. “It’s a blend of just good southern cooking and the Cajun heritage that we were able to have both carried down from Nova Scotia, you know, the original Acadians. And what we have been able to do with what we have her,” Sterling said.

Sterling said social media now plays a major role in expanding Cajun culture, exposing new areas to Cajun flavor in different forms. He encouraged people to continue carrying the tradition so the next generation can enjoy it.