Reuters.com By Stuart Grudgings
Mon Feb 13, 2006. NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - New Orleans' Mardi Gras season came to life on Saturday as thousands of revelers lined the streets for a parade that eased the pain of Hurricane Katrina with a dose of satirical humor and debauchery.
In the best traditions of the irreverent carnival, the first parade - "C'est Levee" -- skewered politicians and bureaucrats blamed for failing to confront the country's worst natural disaster, which killed 1,300 people after the city's levees buckled and caused massive flooding last August.
Downing "Hurricane" cocktails and swaying to the music, thousands cheered the elaborate floats with themes including "Corpse of Engineers" -- poking fun at the U.S. Corps of Engineers that built the levees -- and "Buy Us Back Chirac" - a nostalgic reference to the days when France ruled Louisiana.
"It feels good," said Jackie Borchgrevink, a 56-year-old legal worker watching the parade with a daiquiri in hand.
"A lot of us have been depressed and we need to feel some normalcy to give us some hope."
The parade was put on by the Krewe du Vieux, one of the most playful of the more than 30 so-called krewes that will strut their stuff over the next two weeks as the weary city shows the world its beautiful side after months dominated by ugly images of poverty, racial tension, mismanagement and devastated neighborhoods.
The main party, shortened this year because of Katrina, begins on February 18 and ends 10 days later on "Fat Tuesday." Calls to cancel the annual splurge, a treasured celebration of New Orleans' culture that cuts across racial and class lines, never got very far.
"We're coming back baby. We've got to bring the city back - we must celebrate our traditions and this is one way to do it," said Joe, one of the parade's torch-bearers.
Blain Kern, whose Kern Studios has been making parade floats for nearly 60 years, said he had initially thought Mardi Gras would have to be canceled.
But the determination to defy the hurricane's appalling legacy was typified by the captain of Rex, a krewe founded in 1872, who called to tell Kern: "We're going to parade even if we have a watermark on the float."
Still, even Mardi Gras has not escaped the harsh reality imposed by Katrina.
Only blocks away from the historic French Quarter, neighborhoods lie in ruins with residents still waiting for a clear recovery plan from local or federal officials.
Many hotels remain full of homeless residents and restaurants are struggling to find staff with two-thirds of the city's population still scattered across the country.
With a lack of corporate sponsors, krewes have kicked in to help the cash-strapped city cover a $1.4 million tab for police overtime.
The color, noise and debauchery of Mardi Gras will only temporarily hide the struggle the city faces in reviving its unique cultural and musical heritage.
With thousands of musicians, chefs and colorful characters among the displaced, a commonly voiced fear is that the city will lose much of its soul.
At a church service earlier on Saturday followed by a traditional jazz funeral for 10 members of the Zulu krewe, there was anger as well as sadness. "It's very difficult to see the end of the tunnel ... where's our help?" asked city council president and Zulu member Oliver Thomas.
"America may have forgotten us and the world may have forgotten us, but you're not going to keep us down."
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
