Photography Exhibit at Opelousas Museum
Zydeco Memories by Rita Colligan Manuel
WHAT: Zydeco Highlights by Rita Colligan Manuel
WHEN: Fri, August 8, 2025
TIME: 5—7 p.m.
WHERE: Opelousas Museum
CONTACT: Patrice Melnick 337-948-2589; museum@cityofopelousas.com
The Opelousas Museum is proud to host a reception for the photography exhibit Zydeco Memories: Past and Present by Rita Colligan Manuel on Friday, August 8. The event will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Opelousas Museum.
The exhibit celebrates Zydeco musicians and Louisiana Creole culture. This event pays tribute to the Original Southwest Zydeco Festival, with her photographs capturing vibrant festival moments; the exhibit features performers and dancing spectators, including scenes from the festival’s earliest days, taken from the heart of the field in Plaisance. This exhibit highlights influential figures in Zydeco history, including Boozoo Chavis, John Delafose, Beau Jocque, Buckwheat Zydeco, Clifton Chenier, C.J. Chenier, Willis Prudhomme, and Roy Carrier—musicians who helped shape and carry forward the rich legacy of Louisiana Creole music. Through vivid imagery, the collection invites viewers to explore the roots and evolution of Creole culture, as seen through four decades of Mrs. Manuel’s photography.
Rita Colligan Manuel was born in Opelousas, Louisiana on 1949. She and her husband Peter Manuel Jr. moved to Port Arthur, Texas in 1966 for better opportunities. They always raised their family (Rhonda, Chris (deceased), Krissy), to preserve the customary foundation left from their early ancestors. She is an African American woman deeply rooted in her Creole Culture. Her journey began with many remembrances of growing up where she was raised in St. Landry Parish. Rita has taken every opportunity available to proudly represent the Creole Culture and keeping the dialogue alive through cooking, family, and faith. Back in the earlier days much time was spent returning to their hometown to continue in their traditions and engaging in activities that promoted the culture with relatives/friends. At one point, she decided to pick up a camera, which initiated a hobby of taking family photos, wildlife, and outside events. She began around 1970 capturing these zydeco events taking place in church halls, open fields, and even small nightclubs prior to this music getting out of Louisiana. Most recently her lifetime of photos was also the subject of an exhibit called “Zydeco Memories: Past and Present” displayed at the Gulf Coast Museum of Port Arthur, TX which was curated by Robert Fung.
Her greatest hope is to preserve and document Creole culture so that its history endures for future generations.
FMI: Patrice Melnick 337-948-2589; museum@cityofopelousas.com
