Celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans | National Geographic

National Geographic
12 Feb 201305:42

Summary

TLDRLe Mardi Gras de La Nouvelle-Orléans est une célébration précédant le careme chrétien. Des semaines et mois avant, la ville se prépare, avec des boulangers produisant jusqu'à 50 cakes royaux par jour et des couturiers confectionnant des costumes somptueux pour les fêtes et les parades. Le Mardi Gras est une tradition centenaire, avec des clubs appelés "crews" organisant des bals et des parades. Les float dens, où sont construits les chars, sont une source d'emploi local. La musique est également un élément essentiel de la fête, influençant profondément les musiciens locaux.

Keywords

💡Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras est une fête pré-Christian qui se tient au New Orleans et qui marque le début de la saison de carnaval. Elle est caractérisée par des parades, des bals et des costumes colorés. Dans le script, Mardi Gras est présenté comme un événement qui englobe non seulement la musique et la fête mais aussi la tradition et la communauté locale.

💡New Orleans

New Orleans est la ville américaine où se célèbre le Mardi Gras. Elle est connue pour son architecture, sa cuisine et sa musique, tous éléments qui jouent un rôle important dans la célébration du carnaval. Le script souligne l'importance de la ville comme un lieu de tradition et de culture unique pour Mardi Gras.

💡King Cakes

Les king cakes sont des gâteaux traditionnels associés à Mardi Gras, souvent décorés avec des couleurs vives et parfois contrefichus d'un petit bébé ou d'autres trinkets. Dans le script, les king cakes sont présentés comme un élément clé de la culture culinaire de la ville de New Orleans pendant la saison du carnaval.

💡Costumes

Les costumes ornés portés pendant Mardi Gras sont des éléments de mode complexes et coûteux, fabriqués pour les bals et les parades. Ils représentent un aspect important de la fête, reflétant la richesse et la beauté des traditions du carnaval à New Orleans.

💡Crew System

Le système de 'crews' fait référence aux clubs locaux qui organisent des événements Mardi Gras, y compris des bals et des parades. Ces clubs jouent un rôle central dans la tradition et la structure de la célébration, créant un sentiment de communauté et de participation.

💡Mascarade

Le mot 'mascarade' fait référence à la pratique de cacher son identité en utilisant un masque ou d'autres accessoires. Dans le contexte de Mardi Gras, cela est un élément traditionnel important, symbolisant la liberté et l'anonymat temporaire.

💡Floats

Les floats sont des structures élaborées utilisées dans les parades de Mardi Gras. Ils sont souvent décorés avec des thèmes spécifiques et peuvent coûter des milliers de dollars à construire. Ils sont un aspect visuel important de la célébration et contribuent à l'économie locale en créant des emplois.

💡Music

La musique est un élément essentiel de Mardi Gras, reflétant la culture musicale riche de New Orleans. Elle est présente dans les parades, les parties et les bals, et est un facteur clé dans l'expérience de Mardi Gras pour les habitants et les visiteurs.

💡Tradition

La tradition est un concept central dans le script, soulignant l'importance de la transmission culturelle et des pratiques historiques liées à Mardi Gras. Elle est incarnée par les costumes, les king cakes, les floats et la participation aux crews, reflétant un engagement profond envers la célébration.

💡Community

La communauté est un autre élément clé du script, mettant en évidence comment Mardi Gras rassemble les habitants de New Orleans et renforce les liens entre eux. La participation collective aux différentes activités de la fête crée un sentiment d'appartenance et de solidarité.

💡Carnival Season

La 'saison du carnaval' est la période pendant laquelle ont lieu les célébrations de Mardi Gras, allant du 6 janvier jusqu'au Mardi gras lui-même. C'est un temps de festivités, de parades, de bals et de préparations, qui devient un événement central pour la ville de New Orleans.

Transcripts

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new orleans mardi gras is more than just

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a celebration before the christian

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season of lent begins

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in this city preparations for the big

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day begin

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weeks and even months in advance

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early mornings are nothing new for

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bakers but the predawn workload grows

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during carnival season

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from january 6 through fat tuesday new

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orleans cake cafe and

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bakery is a beehive of activity where

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they make as many as

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50 king cakes a day here they make

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non-traditional

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goat cheese and apple stuffed cakes

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there's very

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old school king cakes in new orleans

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they've been at it for 50 60 100 years

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some of them

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and they have a loyal following the old

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school king cake has a tiny baby or

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other trinket baked inside

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and whoever gets the trinket has

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obligations such as buy

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next year's king cake here the baby goes

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on the outside

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the king cake is a traditional new

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orleans mardi gras pastry

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you'll find pastries like this all over

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the country and all over the world that

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they're only served for a certain season

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during the year

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in another part of town sally hedrick

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and her son are making 150 or more

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ornate costumes these are for the social

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organizations throwing the lavish balls

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and parades

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some may go for more than three thousand

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dollars

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it's as rewarding to see the women in

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these costumes gleam

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but it's more rewarding to see the men

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because a man doesn't get to dress up

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in beautiful clothes he's usually in a

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tuxedo

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hedrick works on costumes year-round

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refurbishing ones that took a bit of a

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beating during last year's mardi gras

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celebrations

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and creating new works

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a look back at years past the louisiana

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state museum lets visitors see more than

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a century and a half of new orleans

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mardi gras traditions

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the oldest item in the carnival

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collection is something that we were

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very fortunate to acquire

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just a couple of years ago it's a ball

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invitation that dates to the 1850s

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the carnival exhibit at the museum on

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jackson square only shows the tip of the

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iceberg

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however the museum's warehouse

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periodically offers tours

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where visitors can see the thousands of

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costumes and other items

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the way that we celebrate mardi gras now

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and for the last 150 years revolves

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around what we call the crew system

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there are all these clubs that exist

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that are called mardi gras crews

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for the dozens of crews spelled with a k

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lavish balls highlight mardi gras the

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knights of sparta crew was founded in

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1951

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for the last 30 years they paraded in

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the city

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and currently host a masquerade ball and

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parade that falls on the next to the

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last weekend of carnival season

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the cruise captain does not publicly

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reveal his identity

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he says it isn't about secrecy i wear

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the mask however because it is the

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tradition of carnival

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to mask to hide one's identity

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because when i represent my

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carnival crew the knights of sparta i am

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simply the captain

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one should not know my name or who i

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am belonging to or leading a crew

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takes a big commitment it is very costly

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to the members of the organization

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paying dues buying the trinkets the

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throws as we call them to throw off the

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floats

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ball gowns for the ladies tickets to

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different functions and we do it because

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of a sense of

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tradition

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[Music]

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as fat tuesday approaches warehouses

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throughout the city come to life

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float dens as they are called house the

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floats that can cost hundreds of

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thousands of dollars to construct

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it can take a month or more to build and

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decorate the elaborate floats

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some of which date back to the early

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1900s

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it's part of the economy here too it

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puts a lot of people to work i mean you

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know to make a float like this you need

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carpenters

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you you need artists you need welders

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you need tire people you need mechanics

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that's a lot involved

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and a final vital ingredient for mardi

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gras is the music

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grammy-winning artist ervin mayfield

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from television you see these parades go

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by people throwing beads

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but what you really don't see is that

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mardi gras lives out in people's houses

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it lives out on the streets it lives out

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in the halls and the parties and

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receptions

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and it's not a thing over one day

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so i would say in terms of music you

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know it's very hard to have mardi gras

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without the music

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and he says any musician growing up in

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new orleans is shaped by mardi gras

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you're a leg on a table that helps the

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table stand up the music the food

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the people for a young musician you

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wouldn't start playing music because of

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mardi gras necessarily but if you are a

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musician you will be involved in mardi

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gras

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a certain way

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[Music]

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most new orleans natives say anyone

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hoping to understand mardi gras

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needs to come back often and stay a

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while not just for one day

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[Music]

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Étiquettes Connexes
Mardi GrasNouvelle-OrléansPâtisserieCarnavalCostumesTraditionsFêtesParadesMusique