What does it take to break a record? If you're Lafayette native Cupid it takes several thousand of your closest friends and 10 minutes of "to the right, to the left". Who knew there was a record for the longest Cupid Shuffle line dance?

Well, there is. It used to be held by the people of, all places Atlanta. Leave it to the citizens of New Orleans and those in attendance at Bayou Boogaloo to smash the Atlanta record by a full two minutes. Just to be fair to Atlanta, that city still holds the record for the largest Cupid Shuffle.

Lafayette native Cupid, Bryson Bernard to his family, created the infectious song and the accompanying dance in 2007. Since that time it has become a staple at festivals, fairs, wedding receptions, and dance halls.

The beat of the music and the easy to follow instructions in the lyrics of the song make even the most rhythmically challenged able to follow along and have fun with the tune.

Before his Saturday performance, Cupid promised he was going to do something "really special for the people of New Orleans". Besides the look of happy faces on thousands of dancers in the crowd maybe that something special was the melting pot of people in attendance.

Despite all the recent tension in New Orleans regarding race and monuments maybe this is the real monument to the spirit of the city. Maybe it's not about race but about rhythm and the desire to celebrate who we are, where we come from, and why we can, in fact, all get along just fine.

 

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