New Orleans' Mardi Gras: The Quintessential US Carnival

Although Carnival fell later in the calendar than most years, bad weather was the great protagonist of the so-called Mardi Gras (martes graso in French) parades in New Orleans, the American city with the largest celebrations of the medieval ritual the day before Lent begins. The customary procession of carriages and bands was lackluster this year because of the rain and extreme cold. In fact, when the parade began at noon, it was 3 degrees Celsius outside, the second-coldest recorded Mardi Gras celebration in history, with the coldest having been on Feb. 14, 1899.

However, not even the severe weather prevented thousands of people from attending the parade and recreating the colorful and festive images familiar to this classic New Orleans tradition, whose origins lie in the French colonial legacy of the 18th century. The first parade took place in 1857; Fat Tuesday was declared a holiday in Louisiana in 1875.

Other neighboring cities on the coast of Mexico have similar carnivals, but none reach the magnitude of the one in New Orleans, where the medieval tradition has not only persisted, but has also adapted its own idiosyncrasies and historical footprint. New Orleans was a place of slaves, which is why race and cultural identity have played an essential role in its history. For this reason, it is not surprising that of the hundreds of Mardi Gras carriages, which parade along 8 kilometers along the central St. Charles Avenue, the most popular are those carrying black and white kings, who toss painted coconuts and random coins into the crowds, respectively. This year, in addition to that tradition, the black caravan had a vindictive touch, with a photo hanging in the front of the carriage to honor of the late former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela.

The Tuesday of Carnival, however, goes beyond the two most famous kings. The variety is endless: All types of carriages, horses, bands and dance groups participate in the parade, and the driving thread shared by all is a happy attitude, revelry and colorful dresses and masks. As usually happens, some famous faces made an appearance this year, including Beyoncé’s sister and the filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

Among the audience was the typical warm and festive atmosphere, although this year it was to be found under the shelter of umbrellas and raincoats. However, the bad weather did not shoo away many attendees, not even the most prudent. “It’s all about the location,” April Womack told the Associated Press. She slept with her family in a tent, as she has for the past two decades, on St. Charles Avenue on Monday night in order to guarantee a prime spot in the first row, behind the fences that mark the parade.

However, not everyone pays attention to the parade. For many, Mardi Gras — like many other carnivals throughout the world — is actually a perfect excuse to enjoy the day with several liters of alcohol in the body, a concept that attracts many partiers to New Orleans. “We’ll drink, drink, drink,” declared a man dressed as a pirate. “We are the party that never ends,” added, for her part, a girl who came to the city with 15 friends. In theory, the party in the historic streets of the French Quarter and its bars lasts until midnight, although it actually tends to continue much longer. The collective frenzy is so great that it is common for one’s shoes to stick to the street while walking down the streets, a result of all the alcohol spilled over the hours.

And besides the costumes and mass consumption of alcohol, New Orleans’ carnival generates a much more prosaic third tradition: eating pancakes. It is actually quite logical, as the idea of Mardi Gras comes from precisely the need to binge on fatty food before beginning a period of rest during Lent. As expected, it is a tradition that many local food joints in the city explore with commercial wisdom.