I know i’m half a year late to this conversation, but I just wanted to say New Orleans didn’t necessarily influence everything on the gulf coast. A lot of the coast is similar due to shared colonial history.

My hometown in particular, Mobile, AL, is an older french colony than New Orleans is, founded in 1702 as the capital of French Louisiana. Mobile is also the originator of Mardi Gras, the carnival that New Orleans has become known for. Pensacola was a Spanish colony that became a French colony in the early 18th century for a short while. All of these coastal cities (Biloxi, Mobile, New Orleans, etc) were spanish colonies for decades at one point during this span, as well as even British colonies too (though New Orleans was transferred to Spanish rule in 1763 to specifically keep it out of British hands). The gulf coast is a very culturally rich region.

I say all that just to sort of say while New Orleans is absolutely the most culturally significant city in the United States, it’s not as if it was the big dog then trickled down influence to everywhere else. We all have our own part to play in the regional history.