Two years have passed since Hurricane Katrina turned
an evil eye on the birthplace of jazz; but images of the city
at its best still live on in the heart and mind of Antonio
García, director of jazz studies at VCU.
García, 48, spent his first 25 years in New Orleans.
He describes the city as a very unique place. He said it’s
had a powerful influence on his career and made him
painfully aware of the transience of tomorrow.
“There’s always a sense of ‘let’s party because tomorrow
we may not be here,’ ” García said.
This mindset motivates the residents of the city to
experiment with music, dance and theater, he said.
“It’s a city that loves experimentation, loves risk-taking,
loves expression,” García said. “That was an all-powerful
force in influencing me to give it (music) a try.”
Even though neither of García’s parents were musicians,
they encouraged all of their six children to take music
lessons, which helped propel Antonio into the life of a
musician.
Garcia received a bachelor’s degree in music from Loyola
University New Orleans in 1981. He said going to college
in New Orleans allowed him to perform music while he
was learning how to be a musician.
García finally left New Orleans in 1983 when he enrolled
at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester
in upstate New York. After two years, he received a
master’s degree in jazz studies and contemporary media.
García went on to teach in Illinois for 14 years, at
Northern Illinois University and Northwestern University.
He moved to Richmond in 2001 to teach at VCU.
Garcia recalls hearing the news of Hurricane Katrina.
He said as soon as he realized what was happening, he
immersed himself in the news and found aerial photographs
of the area online. Through text messaging, he relayed
information to his brother and other friends, who still
lived in New Orleans but had evacuated the city.
“It was terrifying,” García said.
Garcia has visited his hometown twice since the hurricane.
He said he saw little progress when he went back
in March 2006 — it looked like it could have happened
last week. This June he saw some improvement, he said,
but areas like the Ninth Ward still look like a bomb hit.
“You’ll see one house in 30 lived in. Call it the jacko’-
lantern effect,” he said. “At night you’ll see lights in
scattered windows like the teeth of a jack-o’-lantern.”
Many of the evacuees won’t be returning and are struggling
financially, he said.
“They have to pay a mortgage on their old property
while paying for living expenses in their new location,”
García said.
There has been an exodus of musicians from New
Orleans. They have relocated all over the nation, taking
jazz history and culture with them, he said.
“The only good part of the whole thing is people around
the country have had an increase of the New Orleans
influence,” García said.