Laissez les bons temps rouler!
Holy shit, I'm going to Mardi Gras. And I'm taking Jeffro with me. And I'm really, really excited.Michelle, our recent transplant from New Orleans, convinced us that we had to go on Superbowl Sunday. At first I didn't think I could swing it, since I was already planning on going to WMC and Coachella, but after her dvd of Mardi Gras images left me in tears, I knew I had to go.
I've never been to Mardi Gras, or even New Orleans, and I'm psyched that this will be my first time. I think it's going to be a really special year for Mardi Gras, and apparently I'm not the only one who thinks so. There's just nothing quite like the party of a people who have been through hell and (in this case, literally) high water. Shit, we drag ourselves out to the middle of the desert and put ourselves through forced trauma just to get a taste of that feeling. Sure, there are some people who think it's inappropriate to smile or laugh in the face of tragedy.
Then there are the people who know that sometimes smiling and laughing is the only way to get through a tragedy with your spirit still intact. The people who know that sometimes you have to dance just to know you're alive. And from what I've heard, New Orleans is chock full of such people. Just ask the New Orleans gallery owner quoted in this article, who says "We mourn, and then we dance. It's life." Hmm...sounds a little like...us.In case you didn't know, carnival season is already well upon us, and you really ought to check out what they're up to down there. It's not at all about pretending like Katrina didn't happen. Oh no - they're taking on the whole mess, all the surrounding political bullshit, and turning it into great satire and bountiful creativity.
One of my favorites so far is the Krewe du Vieux, whose theme this year was "C'est Levee." And of course, since this is GTG after all, I must point you to the Mystic Krewe of Barkus, the all-dog krewe, whose theme was "Wizard of Paws." It's all very inspirational.The party only gets bigger & better from here on out, culminating of course on Fat Tuesday, when apparently we'll be getting up for the Zulu parade at 6am and rocking our asses off to the Rebirth Brass Band until 5am the next day. I'm just glad I've had my burning man training. You can expect a full report of our trip upon my return and subsequent week-long nap.
posted by stefbot @ 4:56 PM
2 Comments:
I completely agree with that gallery owner who said we mourn and then we dance. I remember questioning whether it was appropriate for us to drag those mackies out to Ocean Beach on September 11, 2001. Turned out it was the most appropriate response we possibly could have had.
When my mom came out to visit one year I was trying to explain to her what Brass Tax does, and her response was, you call it a krewe? Like Mardi Gras? Yeah, mom, pretty much like Mardi Gras, except that the New Orleans krewes could teach us all a little bit about partying, and especially about dancing on the coattails of tragedy.
Beware the zombie powder down there, though, Stefbot. They really mean it... they'll go all Serpent and the Rainbow on your ass in a heartbeat.
Drink some hurricanes and eat plenty of crawfish for us all.
mmmmm crawfish!
oh and if u can find the monsoon, it's a damn good drink.
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