In the spring of 2007 I decided to join a small group of friends in New Orleans for its annual Mardi Gras celebration, "the greatest free show on earth." Mardi Gras parades were originally called the Carnival of Sin. Everyone stopped working and paraded the seven deadly sins: pride, envy, anger, avarice, gluttony, sloth and lechery. The idea was to expose these sins and bring them to light. But in practice it's simply an excuse to indulge them, and New Orleans has arguably built a reputation as host to the biggest and wildest Mardi Gras celebration in the world. Here's a brief journal of our four day trip; click on the image icons to enlarge them.
Bourbon Street
New Orleans' Bourbon Street, located in the city's French quarter, hardly needs an introduction. It seems the first images of Bourbon Street that come to mind are those of wild, drunk partiers willing to bare all in exchange for beads. In some respects its reputation for debauchery lived up to its billing. Below and to the sides are a set of pictures from our nights on Bourbon Street.
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While there were plenty of young partiers, there seemed to be a correspondingly large number of old men with no companion but a camera, intent on capturing nude moments on film. After a while I made a sport of photographing the "creepy old men". At left, the "Girls Gone Wild" balcony features numerous old men with cameras dangling beads to the twenty-somethings below. At right, a bustling Boubron Street.
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Bourbon Street also had its fair share of fundamentalist Christians damning everyone present to hell. One striking scene, pictured left, features a group circled around a cross as someone yells through a bull horn. I can only guess at the impact this approach had on attendees, but one group's tactic of handing out stickers, picured right, seemed to strike a perfect tone.
Garden District
On the second day we decided to explore Uptown New Orleans' "Garden District," a historic residential area primarily developed between 1840 and 1900. Originally the area was constructed with only a couple houses per block, each surrounded by a garden (hence the district's name). Other homes were later added and the result is an interesting mix of 19th century mansions surrounded by smaller, quaint Victorian homes.
We were fortunate to find time to lazily stroll up its streets and take it all in. I was struck by the beautiful architectural designs of the homes, but equally impressive were the large trees and intimate gardens. I would suspect it's commonplace, as it was for our small group, to remark, "This is the type of place I'd like to live one day." The nearby historic Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 is shown to the right.
After eating at a cozy pizza place, we took in the "Endymion" parade. Endymion got its start through contemporary music and pop stars, so this year's guests of Taylor Hicks, Journey and Styx seemed fitting. Upon my return I was often asked, "Did you get any beads?" At least in parades, they're rather easy to get without showing flesh.
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Jackson Square
I've not yet been to Paris, but strolling around the streets and walkways of Jackson Square must surely offer as close of a Paris atmosphere as one can find in the United States. The district is named in honor of Andrew Jackson, who helped save the city during the War of 1812. A statue of him on horseback can be seen in the picture at left. At right, a Parisian-like writer camps out on the ground for artistic inspiration.
We decided to attend mass at St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest continuously active cathedral in the U.S., pictured left. Tarot card readers and fortune tellers hawk their trade in the walkway in front, an irony I found hard to ignore. Afterward we dined on Cajun food, pictured right, and then took in the area's scenery, shops and cafes, pictured below.
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Hurricane Katrina
Over a year and a half later, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina could still be felt. As the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history, neither words or pictures can truly capture the extent of devastation. Below are some photos we took as we drove through the 9th ward and nearby areas. Every effected house and structure has its symbolic "X" marked by the crews who checked them for inhabitants after the flood waters receded. The symbols surrounding the "X" stand for the date, the name of the agency inspecting, the number of bodies, and whether they entered or not (signified by a crossed out zero). TFW stands for Toxic Flood Water, and also might signify no one has yet entered the building. Although we did not see the worst hit areas, the marks we did see each carried eerie statements of the storm's devastation: "Possible body." "Dog dead under house." "Cat outside."
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I couldn't help but wonder how many homes had simply been ignored and not received any symbols, left to be forgotten in a dung heep of history. Some signs have become an interesting means of expression. Boarding on the home pictured first below reads, "Not 4 sale @ any $. I'm staying put!" A sign in the yard reinforces the point: "No Bulldozing!" The second tells people, "I'm back keep off roof". Reminders of the hurricane consistently popped up in poignant ways, such as the inoperative (and possibly abandoned) theme park pictured fourth below.
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Although it certainly wasn't the most uplifting portion of our trip, our visit to some of the affected areas was powerful, and I'm thankful we had the opportunity to see it first hand. Perhaps more important than that, though, I'm thankful for the opportunity to pass along such photos to others as a reminder that there is still much to be done in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.