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.
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