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Keagan Smith

Special to The Port Arthur News

While younger generations may view Zydeco music as a relic of the past, the upbeat rhythms and soulful accordions of the genre have intrinsically tied it to the regional identities of Southeast Texas and greater Louisiana.

Port Arthur-based photographer Rita Manuel has spent her life documenting the lives and performances of some of Zydeco’s most influential artists. Now, the Museum of the Gulf Coast is putting a collection of her work on display with Memories of Zydeco: Past and Present, an exhibit which opens Saturday.

Manuel’s Background

Becoming such an acclaimed photographer that her work would be shown in museums was never part of the plan for Manuel. Born in Louisiana’s St. Landry Parish, she first picked up a camera around age eight. Her mother purchased a Kodak 110 to take photos of the family.

Manuel started her journey as the family photographer, but she quickly realized she could be so much more. Photography became a hobby, then evolved into a full-blown passion.

“Recording history for the family was first,” Manuel said. “Then it was recording the history of musicians, because I liked just taking pictures of them, their families and their lifestyles. And, the things that went on in the Creole community is what I did it for.”

The daughter of a Creole farmer, Manuel is well acquainted with Zydeco music and its close relationship with Creole culture. The genre has always captivated her and she became even more intertwined with it after moving to Port Arthur, where Zydeco tunes filled the city’s various clubs throughout the 70’s.

“We really fit right into the community with all of the people that were already here,” she said. “We were just welcome, and it was just one big family.”

Manuel and her husband, Pete, worked as disc jockeys on KQHN in Nederland and later KALO 1250 in Port Arthur. She said they played Zydeco and Cajun music on the stations throughout the 80s until the early 2000s, and her husband also booked similar acts for local performances in the Golden Triangle.

“I would characterize Zydeco as the music of the soul,” Manuel said. “It’s the music of the soul and the beat of the heart. It’s the culture of the music, and a sound that moves your soul. What can I say? It has your heart racing, so you’ve got to dance and you gotta perform.”

Manuel has photographed some of the biggest names in Zydeco over the course of her career behind the camera. Thanks to the connections formed at the radio stations and in the local music scene, her work captures not only the stage but also behind the scenes of Zydeco artists’ lives.

She’s taken pictures of Clifton and C.J. Chenier, Boozoo Chavis, Buckwheat Zydeco, Geno Delafose, Beau Jocque, Step Rideau and many other prominent acts — in many cases, she’s photographed their families, too.

Having spent over four decades with a camera in her hands across the region, Manuel is a true Zydeco historian and fountain of knowledge. She said it’s imperative that she helps preserve the genre’s legacy and her own Creole culture for future generations.

“This means a lot to me because a lot of times, some history may be forgotten if you don’t take the time to preserve it,” Manuel said. “Taking the time to preserve it also means that at some point in time, I’m able to show it.”

Upcoming Exhibition

Memories of Zydeco: Past and Present is an upcoming exhibition of Manuel’s work at the Museum of the Gulf Coast.

The exhibit comprises nearly 40 of Manuel’s original photos which have been digitally scanned and turned into wall-sized prints. The collection spans her four decade-plus career, beginning with her first shots of Clifton Chenier’s final concert and running all the way to present day.

“As far as I know, I have not seen or really heard of Zydeco music exhibits in this way,” Manuel said. “Maybe you’ll see a picture here, a picture there, but this photography exhibit shows from the very beginnings of my career. It starts maybe back in the 70s when I was taking pictures, and it’s all the real lifestyles of the musicians and their families I was trying to portray.”

Museum of the Gulf Coast Curator Robert Fong said the wealth of images provided by Manuel was so expansive that he ran out of wall space. In order to accommodate the additional pieces of history, another 50-60 pictures are available for viewing via digital format in the gallery.

“She’s a fine photographer,” Fong said. “A lot of her photos are from vantage points that normal photographers would not have gotten. We’re very pleased with the results.”

Memories of Zydeco Past and Present: opens with a reception, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. in the Museum of the Gulf Coast’s Dunn Gallery. The event is free to the public.

The exhibit will run through the end of the year and closes Dec. 28.

The Museum of the Gulf Coast is located at 700 Procter St. in Port Arthur.