Louisiana Spanish is most often credited for being spoken by Louisiana Creoles whose ancestors arrived from the Canary Islands. However, a large amount of hispanophone settlers in Latin Louisiana came from Spain, Cuba, the Canary Islands, Mexico and Spanish Tejas. Later, in the 20th century, Hondurans arrived to work in New Orleans factories and post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans saw a sharp rise in new Spanish-speaking workers, many of whom are Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban.
Linguists have identified three geographic regions of Louisiana where Louisiana Spanish has survived:
1. Sabine River Spanish in Sabine and Natchitoches parishes
2. Bayou Lafourche Spanish in Ascension, Assumption and Lafourche parishes
3. St. Bernard Spanish in St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes
St. Bernard Parish Spanish
Louisiana Spanish, like Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole, is spoken across “racial” lines.
Almost half of the speakers of Louisiana Spanish along the Sabine River, claim Amerindian ancestry, and those in the lower littoral parishes (Ascension, Lafourche, St Bernard, Plaquemines) have direct ties to Cuba, West Africa, the Canary Islands, Mexico and Spain.
