Walking to

New Orleans

A BARRENNESS HOVERS IN THE NEW ORLEANS AIR—
Hurricane Katrina left her scars everywhere. Throughout the Crescent
City: caved-in churches, phantom playgrounds, row upon row of houses
spray-painted with numerical body counts and FEMA SUCKS. But many of
this city’s people have come home to stay. And where you find the
people, you find music and style and fortitude. There’s also a tangible,
spirited sense of survival. We’re here, the people of New Orleans seem
to say. This is our place. The waters may have torn asunder, but ain’t
no river wide enough to keep a New Orleanian from where the heart is
Photographed by Barron Claiborne • Styled by Memsor Kamaraké
Reporting by Laura Checkoway

DA TRUTH BRASS BAND began performing just before Hurricane
Katrina hit. Trombonist Larry Brown, age 20, weathered the storm in New
Orleans at the Hotel Monteleone, where his grandmother has worked for
thirty years. “I’m stuck,” he says. “Ain’t no place like [here]. The thing killing
my spirit is the violence—I lost a couple of family members since I’ve been
back. Making music keeps me going. We gonna keep music alive, keep New
Orleans pumping.” Photographed at the home of Evelyn Carter, mother of
tubist Travis Carter, 19, in the Uptown/Garden district of New Orleans.
myspace.com/datruthbrassband

(From left) Naval blazer by D&G; tuxedo shirt by AIX Armani Exchange; shoes by A. Testoni. Stretch
bomber jacket by House of Deréon; floral pencil skirt by D&G; velour felt cap by Rod Keenan; brooch
by Chanel; charm necklace (worn as belt) by Erickson Beamon for Anna Sui; suede ankle boots by
Stuart Weitzman. Double-faced coat by Ralph Lauren Collection; oxford shirt by Ralph Lauren
Children; crystal earrings by R.J. Graziano; brooch by Chanel. Leather-detailed military jacket by
Lucien Pellat-Finet; tuxedo shirt by AIX Armani Exchange; shoes by A. Testoni. Tuxedo shirt by AIX
Armani Exchange; boots by Dolce&Gabbana. Admiral jacket by D&G; tuxedo shirt by AIX Armani
Exchange. Tuxedo shirt by AIX Armani Exchange; shoes by Clarks.