On February 16, 2020, I attended the Mardi Gras Indian practice in Handa Wanda, New Orleans. I attended this event with Professor Helm and four young ladies from my class. When we arrived at the designated meeting area, we were amused as there were 6 people hoping to enter a five- seater car. Without hesitation, I volunteered to get in the trunk so it would not be an uncomfortable ride for the ladies. As a safety precaution, I did politely ask Professor Helm to drive slowly. I specifically emphasized that I hoped she would take it easy when going over any speed bumps because I could feel all the bumps and cracks in the road. Happily, we had smoothe and safe ride to the location.
Once we arrived it looked as if we were entering someone’s home but we weren’t. From the outside of the building you could hear music playing. When we got to the door we were surrounded by many people and could hear the voice of the main person singing a traditional Indian song called “Indian Red.” Once entering the place, I could quickly tell the place was more of a restaurant and a bar combination. The tables had been moved out of the way and there was just a crowd of people standing in a circle near the stage, all tuned into the performance. It seemed like this event had many spectators who live nearby in the area. There were at least seventy people in the building. The building had two floors and there was not enough room for us to stand near the stage so we ended up going to the top floor to watch the performance from there. The demographics of the crowd was primarily black, but there was a good amount of white people in attendance too. The people represented a wide range of ages; however, an older group of men seemed to be in charge of the practice.
Once the music completely stopped, we started to go back downstairs and we decided that we wanted to talk to the lead singer of the practice. There were lots of people who also wanted to talk to him. As I listened to the conversations in the crowd and saw the great appreciation for the event, I quickly realized that lots of people admire this man. I also noted that he was an influencer for many people at the event. We patiently waited our turn and once he started talking to us he gave us advice and shared important Mardi Gras facts. He also told us why he does this type of work. He shared that he was the lead vocalist for one of the parades and loves what he does. He gave us words of advice and encouragement that included live-time advice. He even extended an open invitation to join him Mardi Gras morning in a parade. He also talked about his costume for Mardi Gras and explained the months of hard work he put into making that costume. He spoke of his deep love for what he does and how he enjoyed inspiring the youth. The Mardi Gras Indian practice was an event I would never forget because I learned so much about New Orleans culture and traditions through this experience.
Jordan’s Mardi Gras Blogs 