Determined to watch every parade parading down our very own neighbor St. Charles Street, and catching a few others here and there, I’ve gotten quite the taste of the ups and downs of Mardi Gras parades. There’s a parade out there for everyone, from political satire to all women’s to old timers to children pleasing to animal celebrating floats, and so much more. Although Muses and Zulu are definite must sees, I have to admit that two other parades caught my eye almost at the same level, if not more. One of the first parades to hit the streets of New Orleans, Krewe de Vieux, is certainly a spectacle to watch. As many warned me, it was satirical indeed and didn’t disappoint in the least in those terms. The theme this year was “Stimulus Package.” Just to give you a taste of the throws and the krewe, I saw skeletons with “boners,” received several separate millions in Persian money, received penis beads, a dradle, a “cock market investor tube,” tokens, men in barrels to represent our declining economy. Probably the most intense float I saw was Fanine Mae sticking it to Uncle Sam from the back. Yeah, figuratively sure…but she was also literally anal raping him. As if this parade wasn’t enough, I was equally fascinated by the police round up at midnight on Mardi Gras’ Fat Tuesday. We had been hearing through the grape vine that Bourbon Street gets shut down by police riding on horseback and decided we had to go there and see it for ourselves. We got that and so much more. Just a little after midnight, sure enough, hundreds of policemen marched down the streets of Bourbon lining the streets and telling everyone to step aside to neighboring streets. Bars closed and anyone who was in got locked in temporarily. The extremists who were walking around with signs entitled WWJD (Who Would Jesus Destroy, in this case) “lead” the parade. Well, they just didn’t move to the side yet. First it was men walking by foot, followed by men on horse, and then men in trucks! The men would even wave at the crowds and smile and laugh, as if they knew it was all in jest because soon enough, the streets would be packed once more. The trucks played their own music using their horns, just having a jolly good time. It was almost a mockery, nevertheless, a statement. The crowd cleared off for at least 15 to 20 minutes as they marched through…but that was enough. The police “krewe” got to parade through Bourbon Street and it’s a parade worth noting.
After reading about who New Orleans was named after, I would say it is a very befitting match for the city. Orleans was a man well known for his womanizing, often of opera house singers who were never known for their chasity, and speculated to have had many late night exclusive dinner parties with nights full of drunken mystery. The city seems to portray this well, the nights of debauchery never seem to end. But on the other hand, Orleans was smart and very well educated man, well taught in chemistry, mathematics and even music. From seeing Preservation Hall last night, the talents and skills of the city are equally endless.
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