I just returned from a wonderful time in New Orleans where I spent few days and nights taking part of the carnival celebrations. I joined Team Yes, a group of friends who have been participating in the Mardi Gras festivities regularly during the last 4 years. Our headquarters were located in the Uptown in a big two story Creole Town house. In total we were around 33 persons. We marched, danced, sang, cooked, disguised, played music, and ate together in what was a pretty communal and cooperative experience. Although I will write about the topic of the carnival and New Orleans more carefully in future entries, in this post I want to give a quick textual/visual review of the most interesting situations that I lived in the city of New Orleans during the carnival season 2012.
Children Audience: Ladders, Screaming, and Catching.
Floats during the day and night: Kings, Queens, and Masked Characters Throwing Things to the Public.
Disguising Everyday: the Costumes of Team Yes:
Marching/Dancing/Singing : Box of Wine, Krewe of Saint Cecilia, and Krewe of Kosmic Debris Parades
Succulent Creole Cousine
Crawfish
King Cake
Jambalaya
A final encounter with the Mardi Gras Indian Chiefs
Carnival Detritus
As you can see, the variety of situations is rich. As a general reflection I want to say that the carnival is one of the greatest expressions of human beings. It is like assisting to a massive performance where everybody is invited: children, adults, youth, and elders from different races and genres. Taking active part of the celebrations involves some of my favorite things: making music, dancing, moving through a city, disguising, singing, and eating delicious foods. After experiencing New Orleans carnival something changes on you, on your senses, on your soul. I think one becomes more extroverted. I have never lived through such amount of pagan activities and joy for so many consecutive days and nights.
As a closing remark, let me share with you and the Internet a beautiful song that a local African American man taught us in a corner of the Garden District the night of Lundi Gras:
Keep it Real
Be Sincere
All is Well
In Twenty Twelve
