Krewe Guest Speakers!

Blog #2

On January 3, 2020, two guest speakers came to my class to speak on behalf of their organizations that are affiliated with the parades within Mardi Gras. The first guest speaker was apart of an organization called “Baby Dolls.” She gave a presentation on the history of Baby Dolls and why they were important to culture in Louisiana. She went on to explain why Baby Dolls dress the way they do and their motives for being apart of Mardi Gras. The second guest speaker was apart of huge Mardi Gras organization, which was called “Zulu.” Zulu was a krewe that consist of over a thousand of members. Our guest speaker explain that Zulu members have a specific look while they are marching in the parades. They paint their faces black and paint one eye white. He explained that this was before blackface was a prominent issue. He enriched us with important information and background about this krewe so we know before Mardi Gras comes around. 

A couple things I was surprised about with these organizations was how much was going on behind the scenes. I was not aware of the amount of krewes in Mardi Gras. I always thought it was whoever wanted to be in the parade could be in the parade. I also was surprised about the amount of money that goes into just being a member of one krewe in Mardi Gras. With the Baby Dolls they choose wisely who they want to be in their krewe and they do this with interviews. I did not realize how serious these organizations are. Even with the Zulu krewe there are positions and the higher the position, the more responsibility. Ultimately they are doing this for joy, but the culture is deeper than I personally expected.