LOU WATERS, CNN ANCHOR: Louisiana is known for Dixieland jazz and Zydeco. It's not known for grand opera -- until now. Bill Rodman of CNN affiliate WAFB looks and listens.</s>BILL RODMAN, WAFB REPORTER (voice-over): Supper time at La Rusticana in Hammond, Louisiana. Jeff Pino Atello (ph) is busy preparing pasta and his popular double-decker pork chops.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come all the way from Baton Rouge to eat this pork chop.</s>RODMAN: But you won't find tonight's crowd-pleaser on the menu. He is Juan Carlos Hernandez of New Orleans. As if the act of singing opera so well at the age of 8 isn't enough, no one in his family knows where the desire or know-how came from.</s>JUAN CARLOS: It popped out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just heavenly.</s>RODMAN: Accompanist and grandmother Julie Counsel (ph):</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But he doesn't seem to need encouraging. He really loves it.</s>RODMAN (on camera): Juan Carlos' father Juan Jose hails from Spain. And over there, unlike here, opera is very popular. (voice-over): That influence, along with his grandma's opera records, were enough to make him a big hit at Arden Cahill Academy, where school plays are built around his singing talents.</s>CARLOS: Well, a lot of them laughed when I told them I could sing opera. They were pretty amazed.</s>RODMAN: Amazing only begins to describe this little singing sensation, who some believe is well on his way to opera stardom.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got his second autograph. When he's famous, this will be worth a fortune.</s>RODMAN: In Hammond, Louisiana, Bill Rodman for CNN.</s>WATERS: Pavarotti, watch your back.
8-Year-Old Boy Serenades Louisiana With Opera