The Saints Go Marching In
Santa Fe New Mexican
By Michael Abatemarco, Staff Writer
Passionate about his native city, New Orleans investigative journalist Jason Berry set down its history in a manuscript called City of a Million Dreams: A History of New Orleans at Year 300 (University of North Carolina Press, 424 pages, 2018). Three years later, Berry turned it into a documentary. But Berry’s “in” to New Orleans is through its music and its unique jazz funeral processions.
City of a Million Dreams: Parading for the Dead in New Orleans (documentary, not rated, 90 minutes) screens at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 7, at the Center for Contemporary Arts. Presented in partnership with Lost Padre Records as part of the ongoing series CCA Amplified, the event includes an in-person Q&A with Berry and musicologist and clarinetist Michael White, who’s featured prominently in the film. Berry’s film follows White and funeral procession videographer Deborah “Big Red” Cotton as they delve into the origins of a cultural phenomenon and how it reflects the social and political realities of present-day New Orleans.
Tickets are $15 on the website or at the door. Center for Contemporary Arts, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, 505-982-1338, ccasantafe.org
