In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as the citizens of New
Orleans regroup and put down roots elsewhere, many wonder what will
become of one of the nation's most complex creole cultures. New
Orleans emerged like Atlantis from under the sea, as the city in
which some of the most important American vernacular arts took
shape. Creativity fostered jazz music, made of old parts and put
together in utterly new ways; architecture that commingled Norman
rooflines, West African floor plans, and native materials of mud
and moss; food that simmered African ingredients in French sauces
with Native American delicacies. There is no more powerful
celebration of this happy gumbo of life in New Orleans than Mardi
Gras. In Carnival, music is celebrated along the city's spiderweb
grid of streets, as all classes and cultures gather for a festival
that is organized and chaotic, individual and collective, accepted
and licentious, sacred and profane.
The authors, distinguished writers who have long engaged with
pluralized forms of American culture, begin and end in New
Orleans-the city that was, the city that is, and the city that will
be-but traverse geographically to Mardi Gras in the Louisiana
Parishes, the Carnival in the West Indies and beyond, to Rio,
Buenos Aires, even Philadelphia and Albany. Mardi Gras, they argue,
must be understood in terms of the Black Atlantic complex,
demonstrating how the music, dance, and festive displays of
Carnival in the Greater Caribbean follow the same patterns of
performance through conflict, resistance, as well as open
celebration.
After the deluge and the finger pointing, how will Carnival be
changed? Will the groups decamp to other Gulf Coast or Deep South
locations? Or will they use the occasion to return to and express a
revival of community life in New Orleans? Two things are certain:
Katrina is sure to be satirized as villainess, bimbo, or symbol of
mythological flood, and political leaders at all levels will
undoubtedly be taken to task. The authors argue that the return of
Mardi Gras will be a powerful symbol of the region's return to
vitality and its ability to express and celebrate itself.
eISBN: 978-0-8122-0100-0
Subjects: Anthropology
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