NEW ORLEANS – Laissez le bon temps roulez! Roughly translated, it means: “let the good times rule.” The French saying comes alive in New Orleans today — fat Tuesday.
Believe me, we take good times seriously. We spend nearly the entire year preparing for the Mardi Gras season. Well-to-do business leaders with memberships in secret carnival societies spend thousands of dollars to don masks, ride brightly colored paper-mache floats, throw beads and doubloons to parade goers and attend masquerade balls catered with the finest wines, most potent spirits and traditional New Orleans cuisine.
New Orleans high school bands practice all year, synchronizing music notes, precision marching steps and flamboyant dance moves in flashy uniforms so that their band can be recognized as the best in this year’s parades.
Read the rest here: http://thegrio.com/2013/02/12/mardis-gras-impact-on-working-class-new-orleans/
