Mardi Gras

March to Mardi Gras, New OrleansThis holiday with its exotic parades and carnivals originated in the XVIII century in the French-administered territory of the current state of Louisiana. After the arrival of the Spaniards, the holiday was banned. When the territories were incorporated into the United States, the local population achieved the "rehabilitation" of Mardi Gras.

The American Mardi Gras Carnival is primarily the world-famous jazz orchestras (The Batiste Brothers, Mahogany Brass Band, The Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indians) and the Bacchus Parade, which takes place annually on the Sunday before Easter. Even if you shut your ears, you can still hear the sounds of jazz day or night.

The largest jazz festival in the United States is widely known, as well as mass celebrations organized by sex minorities (Southern Decadence). On the streets you can see the processions of people of non-traditional sexual orientation. .

The peak of the festival falls on New Orleans, it is from it that the river of Mardi Gras history flows. The main action of Mardi Gras takes place in the French Quarter (Vieux Carre) on Bourbon Street.

Here, the carnival turns into a real paradise for voyeurs: to get the most precious Mardi Gras trophy – a coconut thrown from the motorcade – you need to draw the attention of the throwers. To do this, during the carnival on Bourbon Street, it is customary to unbutton jackets and pick up T-shirts.

As for the favorite dessert, New Orleans bakes it on Mardi Gras. This is the cake of the “three kings”, or rather, the Magi, who brought gifts from all over the world to the newborn Jesus. A small figure of Christ is baked in dough. The one who gets it must buy his friends lunch next carnival. The cake resembles a multicolored pretzel with cinnamon.

On the streets you can easily encounter celebrities - from Michael Jackson to a famous politician.

The election of the king and queen crowns the spectacle. Tradition has preserved the memory of the first king of the first carnival in the last century. He was a Russian who came from Russia, whose name I never knew. The Queen’s attire is not inferior to the toilets of the most exquisite royal courts.