Personal Narrative On Mardi Gras

Blues for New Orleans: Mardi Gras and America’s Creole Soul by Roger D. Abrahams is a book about the upbringing of the New Orleans Mardi Gras carnival. This is one the most famous carnivals held in New Orleans. The festival Mardi Gras “Fat Tuesday” incorporates “such events as costumed float parades, neighborhood marches or second-lines, street gatherings, informal parties, and formal balls in New Orleans, Biloxi, and Mobile, among other Gulf Coast cities and towns.” (1) The author, Roger D. Abrahams throughout his book, speaks of the carnival from all differ perspectives and compares it to other countries held around the world. He also addresses, how before Hurricane Katrina and afterwards, the Mardi Gras festival and the culture/ tradition

It was a hot, muggy day like any other in southern Louisiana, right near the Atchafalaya Basin, and between the run-down gas stations and Spanish Moss-covered trees, there was something buzzing in the air, mingling with the hum of the mosquitoes. It was Zydeco, tricking out from the radios that were scattered around the rest station. Between the bars of the music, Louisiana Creole (a language with French, African, Spanish, and American Indian roots) intertwined with guitars and

Crawfish is only in season for a few months of spring and summer. We eat a lot of food that you may also eat in your cities. I have actually never ridden a street car, and there are many other people who haven’t rode them either. Street cars, are examples modes of transportation, but It is not the only mode that is available in New Orleans. In New Orleans, Mardi Gras comes once a year, and after it’s over, there are no more Mardi Gras parades. I honestly hate Mardi Gras with a passion. I’m not really a fan of crowds, so I would like to do something else with my time, but I can’t because every street, or interstates, or other transcontinental highways are blocked off because of Mardi Gras. So no one will never catch me with the Mardi Gras color combination on. There is one bayou in New Orleans, which is the Bayou St. John. There are no Alligators in this bayou. This bayou that I speak of is not a swampy bayou, it is a Bayou typically used for Canoeing. In New Orleans, not everyone plays a musical instrument, or speak French, or practice Voodoo. I understand all people know is what the media portrays on New Orleans, but it much better than that. I challenge everyone to come visit New Orleans and experience it for what it really

This year I decided to go out and enjoy a little. In addition to enjoying myself, I can also learn a bit more about the holiday itself. I wanted to go to a parade that was not very crowded, so I picked the Krewe of Cleopatra. It was perfect for a beginner at going to parade. It was not packed with people and it was a somewhat famous parade. It was an all-female parade, so I felt a bit awkward for attending it, but I was mistaken. I arrived there an hour ahead in order to find a parking spot. There I saw other men and it was not as awkward as I initially thought it would be. Once the floats were coming down from the street and I can see the women standing on top throwing beads into the crowd. These floats were filled with different colors and the women were dressed in black. The crowd was getting rowdy and I could barely stand still. Once the float came by I managed to catch some. These beads were a signifier that has a special signified here in New Orleans and other places that celebrated Mardi Gras. By the end of the parade I was tired standing and following all the floats. Even though it was tiring, I still had lots of

In Zeitoun and When the Levees Broke, it was evident that Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage to the Gulf Coast, especially to New Orleans. Many lives were lost, and the people were both physically and mentally distraught. However, after just six months the people of New Orleans gathered their spirits to celebrate Mardi Gras. This celebration proved that the city’s identity had not been forgotten. New Orleans’ identity was also evident during the hurricane, which highlighted the ways in which people cared for each other. Although New Orleans went through an environmental crisis, the city was resilient enough for the people to remember their history, jazz music, and their connection to their tight-knit community.

The one significant message that I would like to point out from this essay is “I believe the soul of this place cannot be easily destroyed by wind and rain. I believe the music here will live and people will continue to dance. I believe in “Darlin’” and “Baby.” I believe in “Where ‘yat’?” and “Makin’ groceries.” I believe in neighborhoods where Mardi Gras Indians sew beaded costumes, kids practice trumpet in the street, and recipes for okra can provide conversation for an entire afternoon.” (Miller, M. 2013) To me, this essay captures the quality of being worthy of attention. It conveys the author's feelings towards New Orleans and in not so many words why he chose to move back. To me, these poignantly fifteen words said drove the point home,

The mass of almost one hundred thousand is edgy. The night is hot, humid, and alive with a feeling in the air so palpable you can almost trace it with your finger. The bleachers are filled to maximum capacity, along a mile-long stretch of paved roadway adjacent to an old brewery. People from all races, classes, and countries are celebrating together at the culmination of the orgiastic, pre-Lenten, hedonistic festival of Carnival. Soon, the first marchers proceed down the corridor to the booming cacophony of bass, snare, and friction drums. The rattling of tambourines, bells, and scrapers add flavor and accent. Like a bird set free, the singing cavaquinho (ukulele) emits its high pitched cries, adding to the frenzy. The marchers and

T-Bois has been in the Falgout family since the 1950’s. Over the years it has been home to a crawfish business, an alligator farm and most importantly, this unique group of people. It has been the central meeting venue of this community for many years. T-Bois Blues Festival, the group’s largest event began as a Good Friday celebration in Larose, Louisiana decades ago. These gatherings, while local and community-oriented, drew in hundreds of people in the first years. The focus of this group was to bring together the locals and unite the essences of cajun culture. Over the years, T-Bois has grown exponentially. Starting out as a humble gathering of close friends, T-Bois has transformed into something much more. Every year, people from around the world travel to this swampy southern estate to experience this unique fusion of blues music, cajun food, untamed wilderness and street art that can only be found in

It started in the fourth grade on MLK Day (which happened to be my mom’s birthday that year), I remember shoveling and pushing a wheelbarrow of mulch from one area of a big hilly park to another in torrential rain, getting totally soaked and muddy. Initially I thought, “Why is my family doing this today?” But after a seemingly quick four hours of mulching, weeding, and cleaning up the garden alongside its residents, I felt extremely satisfied that I had accomplished something to help beautify the Oakland neighborhood. I had seen then that there were many children, and even adults, who are not as fortunate as me, and since that time, I had continued to help with different park clean ups, thinking I was helping to clean up a place where they

New Orleans is known for being a culturally rich city; from its food to its music to its celebrations it is full of spirit and unique traditions. It is not hard to pick up on this, it is what you hear across the country when someone mentions New Orleans, it is what the New Orleans tourism board features in all its material, it part of how institutions such as Tulane market themselves. Everyone may know about jazz music and second lines but many of us visitors to the city lack knowledge about their historical, political, and social/cultural context. A crucial element of New Orleans culture and history that provides a lot of this context, that every visitor should take the time educate themselves about, is social aid and pleasure clubs and benevolent

We’ve all heard of the festival being a scene with women flashing for beads and I totally expected the streets (especially Bourbon Street) to be filled with half-naked drunk people. What I found instead, were elaborately dressed festival-goers of all ages celebrating, laughing and expressing themselves through music, art, and dance. While many costumes and signs were humorous and outrageous, I never once felt anything other than love and positivity around

When I arrived at the T.G.I.F restaurant in downtown New Orleans, I was surprised at the wall paintings and other décor around the restaurant. It was very different than every other T.G.I.F I had ever been too. I went to the restaurant on a mission to observe people and their social interactions, but I found myself gazing at the décor. The walls were adorned with photos of saints, jazz players, and the fleur-de-lis emblem. I made small talk with the waitress and she explained the

T'S MARDI GRAS!!!!! Yes, New Orleans' famous Carnival season is this years' never-ending party and you're invited. Mardi Gras, famous for its colorful and cultural parades, is an experience you can't go any longer w/out! The Streets are packed with both tourists and Native Louisianans as they celebrate Mardi Gras in full color and sound. . The Huge Parades come flashing down the street we fresh music, an explosion of lights, and spectacular floats. Everyone is having a great time, enjoying the festivities of the parade. So you're new to Mardi Gras, but don't want to act like it? Here in brief, are the basic facts about Americas' greatest party.

Trinidad’s French Creole planter community used this opportunity to celebrate their memories of their ancestral home. Pre-emancipation carnival was highly stratified and segregated affair, however with the planters and the free coloured keeping to themselves. Slaves were in theory debarred from the festivities but eye witness’ evidence suggests that they will have taken advantage of the temporary anarchy to indulge in the street parades (Regis 2000:231).Because of this segregation and the debarring of slaves from this celebration the slaves in turn would hold their own little carnivals in their backyards called the Dame Lorraine masque(Regis 2000:231) by using their own rituals and folklore but also imitating their masters’ behaviour at the masked balls.

When I was fifteen, my friends, and I planned to go to the West Hollywood Halloween Carnival together. I was the first person there, and knowing my friends would be late, I waited in obvious sight. After five minutes, an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man approached me and complimented my costume. Typically, I love to socialize and meet new people, however, when his third question was “Who do you like to have sex with?” my stomach dropped. Sadly, I had expected some kind of inappropriate question, just not something so personal and irrelevant. “I like girls!” I said honestly, ignoring all the rational thoughts I had to satisfy this stranger, to whom I owed nothing. I do not like confrontation, and moreover, I was scared. What if he turned violent?