Louisiana is a world unto itself, and music is a big part of what makes it special. Or, more accurately, Louisiana is several worlds, each completely distinct from the others. North Louisiana is part of the deep South; New Orleans is part of the Caribbean; the Cajun country is a sort of southern Quebec with bayous and a rich African-American heritage; as for the Isleņo area at the Mississippi's mouth, it is a tiny pocket of its own. Each of these areas has its distinctive music and food, two things which tend to go together in Louisiana, and which are valued here as in no other part of the country.