Red Beans and Advice for Monday, February 20

The spirit of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras is coming to a close. Today is Lundi Gras, and the two major krewes, Rex and Zulu, will put on their events tomorrow on Mardi Gras Day.

Rex is considered the most elite of the publicly parading krewes, and its king is usually a prominent business leader. Zulu is the most elite Black krewe, to which Louis Armstrong belonged. One of my sisters in the Krewe of Themis was chosen as its Queen this year. Hail Rex! Hail Zulu!

Much has been written about the exclusivity of Mardi Gras krewes, often in terms of racism, sexism and ethnic bias. There are still krewes that operate in secret, and do not stage parades. I would definitely encourage you to explore that side of Mardi Gras.

But there is another, far more modest side of Mardi Gras that visitors often miss. That lies in the walking krewes that put on small parades, some with just a couple of horse drawn floats.