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American Morning

Mardi Gras Festivities in New Orleans and Gulf Region

Aired February 28, 2006 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning.
And welcome back, everybody.

Happy Mardi Gras.

We're celebrating Mardi Gras right here in New Orleans.

I'm Soledad O'Brien coming to you live from the balcony of the Royal Sonesta Hotel, right on Bourbon Street right in the French Quarter.

Hey Miles -- good morning.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

I'm Miles O'Brien.

We're live along the Mardi Gras parade route. St. Charles Avenue is our location.

Welcome to a special Fat Tuesday edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

It's a fat edition of AMERICAN MORNING.

We'll be going to until 1:00 p.m. Eastern time, so stay with us as we bring you every step of the way on a very special, historic Mardi Gras here in the Crescent City.

As I said, I'm here uptown.

Let's take a look down in the street and take a look at what is going on as people get ready to see the parade come by. Live pictures in the neutral ground, as they call it. You see the stepladders. A lot of people bring them here. If you're pretty serious about Mardi Gras parades and you know the ropes, you bring a stepladder to the parade in order to better procure the so-called "throws" -- the beads, the doubloons and, in the case of Zulu, the golden coconuts, which are handed out, not thrown out, for fear of causing grievous injury.

The two big marquis events today -- there you see folks getting ready, bundled up here. It's a little chilly in the morning, but it's supposed to get up to about 75 degrees. A perfect day for it.

Zulu and Rex, two big krewes. Rex, the person, is king of carnival. Historically, Zulu one of the most historic and colorful of all the krewes, complete this year with real live Zulu warriors from Africa.

So we'll be watching it from here and the French Quarter, where Soledad is.

S. O'BRIEN: That's right.

Hey, Miles, you know, Bourbon Street, right here, right below me, there are no parades that are going to be coming through. And, in fact, the noise you can hear -- you can see some of the trucks behind me, too -- they're cleaning up. Literally, probably, what, 90 minutes ago, maybe -- 45 minutes ago -- the people, the partiers starting getting off the streets and they started bringing the trucks and started doing a little bit of the cleanup.

As you can see, it kind of gets to be a mess during the night and then they clean it up and get ready for, of course, the big day today.

We're taking a look this morning about how the city is faring six months out.

Also, we're going to talk to a historian, a Mardi Gras historian very famous in these parts. He's written a number of books about not just the party, but really the history and the meaning behind the party. We're going to talk about all of that just ahead.

First, let's get right back to Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Soledad.

we'll look for that.

There are five parades in all going through uptown New Orleans today. Two of them, though, are kind of the cornerstones, the main event, the marquis type krewes.

Rex, of course, is interwoven with Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the oldest krewe of all that parades. And the Rex parade will start up at Napoleon Avenue, work its way down St. Charles to Canal Street.

But, right before Rex is the Zulu parade. It starts up on Jackson Avenue near Magnolia, then along St. Charles. So, in both cases, we get a good view right here to Canal. It's nice to have scaffolding. We don't have to sit on a stepladder here. So I get to have that.

So there's a lot of tradition to all of this. We could go on and on about it, and we will, through the course of the day, give you some insights into all the intricacies and the traditions.

But why don't we start off with giving you a little bit of Mardi Gras parade 101.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Fat Tuesday is as old as the Christian calendar, but the first Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans dates back to 1837. Yet it was another 20 years before the mystic krewe of Comus held what is considered to be the first traditional parade. A krewe, spelled K-R-E-W-E, is part social club, part secret society. And it's a group that puts on a parade or a ball, you know, those people wearing the weird outfits and throwing the beads.

Each krewe has its own specific rituals and symbols. There are four so-called super krewes, larger, more elaborate than the others. They are Bacchus, Endymion, Orpheus and Rex. The Rex krewe stages the largest parade of Mardi Gras. The leader of Rex is considered to be the "King of Carnival" and is traditionally given the key to the city by the mayor of New Orleans. Rex is also credited with giving meaning to the Mardi Gras colors back in 1892 -- gold meaning power; green, faith; and purple, justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about this? Just a little bit. Right there. Right there.

M. O'BRIEN: Riders on the parade floats toss items to the crowds called throws. They include doubloons with the krewe logo on them, plastic cups and, of course, colorful plastic beads. The Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club, the oldest parading African-American krewe, first took to the streets in 1909. It has become a perennial favorite. And the krewe's colorful coconuts, painted gold and silver and decorated with glitter, are one of the most prized throws.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Now, we have crews -- that's C-R-E-W-S -- although today maybe we can call them K-R-E-W-E-S.

Did I do that right?

I flunked the spelling bee.

Anyway, they're all across New Orleans and beyond today, to give you the full flavor of what's going on all throughout the Gulf Region.

Chris Lawrence has got a front row seat for Zulu.

Sean Callebs is there for Rex.

Let's start with Chris, because Zulu is first -- Chris, are they getting ready?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, definitely, Miles.

In just about a half an hour from now, the Zulu parade will get its start. They will come down here. They'll give the official toast right here. It's a tradition that goes back almost 100 years to when Zulu started.

You can see already some people starting to line up. You can see people starting to come down the street a little bit, families starting to come out and set up. You know, Solomon, let me bring you in here.

This is Solomon Duplessis.

You know, he was evacuated during the storm and had to go to Atlanta, am I right?

SOLOMON DUPLESSIS, SR.: Yes, right.

LAWRENCE: But you came back here for Zulu.

DUPLESSIS: Yes.

LAWRENCE: Why?

DUPLESSIS: Oh, well, it's tradition and this is my home. And it's not like Mardi Gras, you know. I feel bad the way things went, but still, I have to come back and support and try to build up the community, you know? And there's been some dollars here. They're trying to help some people to get back to their feet.

I feel bad because I'm not home and I miss home. But it's nothing like Mardi Gras.

LAWRENCE: All right, Solomon...

DUPLESSIS: Thank you.

LAWRENCE: Well, I hope you have a great Mardi Gras, my friend.

DUPLESSIS: Yes.

LAWRENCE: Yes, and that's the feeling right here.

You know, Zulu was hit very hard by this. They lost 10 members during the storm. About half the members lost their homes. The crew was probably the hardest hit out of anybody, yet they say that's why it was so important for them to come out and have Mardi Gras this year -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow!

All right, thank you very much, Chris Lawrence.

We've got some -- all kinds of people out here that are screaming at us here.

So thank you very much.

The biggest of all Mardi Gras parades is Rex. And that is where, actually, the "King of Carnival" is a part of that. And the king of our coverage of Rex is Sean Callebs -- good morning, Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.

Thanks very much for that moniker. I'm very honored, very proud. Right here on Napoleon and St. Charles, this is where the parade is going to start. This is where Endymion went down a couple of nights ago. I had the pleasure of being in that.

I want to show you something. These three guys here have been standing out here since 2:00 in the morning. Down here, a barbecue grill they found in the street and also a -- they said they found some firewood, too. So if anybody is missing some plywood, look for these three guys.

Now, we're going to cruise, Miles, C-R-U-I-S-E, down this way. This is Chuck Hold (ph) and his buddies are down here, getting ready to throw some ribs on.

CHUCK HOLD: How are you doing?

CALLEBS: How is it going?

Is the grill ready here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much.

Take a look.

CALLEBS: OK. And so this is just a pretty good microcosm of what's going on all up and down St. Charles. There are already people out here. The parade is still several hours away, but we can see the tops of little tents decorating this entire area. Oh, there they are. There are the ribs. They look pretty good. So this is where I'm going to camp out today.

And the product is going to make its way down this way. A police presence out here so far, but it has been a very celebratory Mardi Gras. People saying more family oriented than they remember in the past. Certainly, a lot of people have some bad memories they want to put beside them -- and, Miles, simply embrace this day, Fat Tuesday, and have a great time.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Sean Callebs, don't eat too many ribs there. And if you do get a few, make sure you save some for your pal here on St. Charles.

CALLEBS: Got you.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll show you...

CALLEBS: Got you.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll show you in a little bit.

Thank you very much.

AMERICAN MORNING will be taking you through this wonderful event all the way until 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. If you're headed out, if you just want to kind of direct yourself, choose your own shots, you can do that all by going to cnn.com/pipeline. We have Mardi Gras festivities piped in. All of our cameras, or many of them, at least. So you can be your own Mardi Gras director and experience Mardi Gras in a new and highly technological way.

And guess what? Pipeline today is free. No golden coconuts required from you in order to participate this way.

Let's get some headlines in now.

Carol Costello with that in New York -- good morning, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Good morning to all of you.

New developments out of Iraq to tell you about.

Saddam Hussein's trial has now been adjourned. It will pick back up again tomorrow. Earlier today, prosecutors showed a document they say was signed by Saddam Hussein. It apparently gave the OK for the executions of more than 140 Shiites.

In the meantime, there is more bloodshed today, just one day after that curfew was lifted in Baghdad. The worst attack was at a gas station. At least 30 people have been killed, mostly Shiite civilians, in a series of explosions across the city.

President Bush is heading overseas today, but first he's meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. They'll discuss the war in Iraq. The president then heads to meet with two nuclear rivals, India and Pakistan.

Iran has started enriching uranium on a very limited scale. CNN has obtained a confidential report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. That's the U.N. nuclear watchdog group. The report will be formally presented next week. Iran says its nuclear program is for energy use only.

And the war of words over the best-seller "The Da Vinci Code." The high court in London is hearing arguments in a lawsuit involving mega selling author Dan Brown. Two other authors claim parts of their 1982 non-fiction work, "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail," were used as the basis for Brown's book, so they're suing the book's publisher. Brown could testify as early as next week.

And, you know, Chad, there's a movie...

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, right.

COSTELLO: ... "The Da Vinci Code" movie set to come out in May. It could affect that, too, this lawsuit.

MYERS: Of course. Which is a novel, right?

COSTELLO: Well, the movie is based on the novel.

MYERS: Correct. COSTELLO: If the novel like stole works from other authors, then that could also affect the movie.

MYERS: Exactly.

And they're calling...

COSTELLO: You see where I'm going here?

MYERS: And they're calling that non-fiction. And you know what I'm thinking? They're probably going to sell some of those books now.

COSTELLO: I know.

MYERS: There you go.

COSTELLO: You know, you're probably right about that.

MYERS: Good morning, Los Angeles.

Good morning, Vegas.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad Myers.

More of our special Mardi Gras coverage from New Orleans.

We will hear from a Lieutenant by the name of King from New Orleans' oldest parading krewe, Rex, a lieutenant by the name of King.

We'll sort that out for you in just a little bit.

We'll ask what they've been through since Katrina.

And then there's this from Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That's right, we're going to get a little lesson, a little Mardi Gras 101, Mardi Gras history. The publisher of the annual "Mardi Gras Guide" is going to join us, up live.

And then later, our very good friend Julia Reed will join us, as well. Is now the right time for New Orleans to be celebrating? She's got some pretty strong feelings on this very topic, as do many people in this city.

We're going to talk about all of that just ahead.

A short break.

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people where I'm staying at have come back just to go to Mardi Gras, people who have been displaced. And they just wanted to come back, you know, to more or less -- to say OK, well, even though I've lost everything, I still am going to make this Mardi Gras this time or whatever to, you know, to show some support for it.

And I think it's great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: You know, the other night when I had an opportunity to ride on the Bacchus float, it was just amazing to me to see the people of New Orleans, in many respects, coming together for the first time since Hurricane Katrina six months prior. And a lot of people I've spoken to since then say they just can't even really put words on the joy it gave them, because not only did they get to reconnect with people, their old -- their social network, but they were reminded that not all is lost. Something very important to them, something they treasure, is, in fact, still alive and well here.

And so if you're making a case for having a Mardi Gras or not, that's a pretty compelling case right there.

Joining us right now, a member of one of the krewes that is sort of the marquis event krewes today, Rex.

And his name is King, for real.

King Logan, good to see you.

Good to have you with us.

KING LOGAN, "REX" LIEUTENANT: Nice to be here.

M. O'BRIEN: Happy Mardi Gras to you.

LOGAN: Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: And tell us about your decision-making -- I've been asking everybody about this and I know Rex went through this -- as to whether to parade or not. A lot of money is spent. At Bacchus, I think their budget was $3 million, out of their own pockets, just a million dollars on beads. And, of course, that money could go in a lot of other ways.

LOGAN: It certainly could.

M. O'BRIEN: There are a lot of other needs.

LOGAN: Well, I think the reason for having Mardi Gras is that -- officially it's because the city -- the city and the government officials asked the krewes to -- that put on Mardi Gras to conduct the parades as usual.

The budget of the Rex Organization doesn't quite approach that of Bacchus, but it is a significant investment. And it is all privately funded from the members themselves.

M. O'BRIEN: Is it money well spent, though?

LOGAN: Absolutely well spent. I think if you ask any of the people you referred to you in your opening a moment ago who you saw in the Bacchus parade, the joy, the mirth, the sort of the brand defining aspect of Mardi Gras here in New Orleans is very important to us. It's part of our culture. It's our tradition. It's what we grow up with.

M. O'BRIEN: Is it hard to celebrate, though, six months later or, as somebody put it to me yesterday, you know, I'm tired of mourning. I'm ready to move on and think about the future and celebrate a little bit.

LOGAN: I think for a lot of people here in New Orleans, Mardi Gras today is a turning point. We are officially at the six months post-Katrina date. I think for a lot of people this is a return to what's comfortable, what's normal. It's a sense of -- it's like comfort food for us here in New Orleans when you grow up with Mardi Gras. And think so, for those reasons, it is something of a benchmark and we are looking forward.

In fact, there are more people who are now looking forward to the next hurricane season in discussion, serious discussions about what's happened and what is happening, almost as much conversation about preparation for the next hurricane season as what happened six months ago...

M. O'BRIEN: So it's a time...

LOGAN: And so there is a turning point.

M. O'BRIEN: We really are at a pivot point.

LOGAN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: It's interesting that Mardi Gras, coincidentally, happens at that point, you know?

LOGAN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: Or maybe it's precipitated that point.

LOGAN: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: You personally have had, you lost your house and you...

LOGAN: Well, we didn't lose our house. We had significant flooding in our neighborhood, which is about a mile-and-a-half below the famous breach of the 17th Street Canal. We had about six or seven feet of water. Our house is slightly raised, so we had about three feet of water. And in the four or five months -- we evacuated in Atlanta and stayed with our -- with my brother and his family. We were fortunate to have a place to go. We came home. Our house was totally destroyed. It's been gutted, mold remediation, completely, all the walls and such pulled out. So we're now in the process of rebuilding and dealing with insurance and SBA and others.

M. O'BRIEN: Now, you are a fifth generation New Orleans, a business owner.

LOGAN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Obviously you're not -- you're not leaving, there's no question about that.

LOGAN: No. We're committed to being here.

M. O'BRIEN: But what about your...

LOGAN: We want to do something...

M. O'BRIEN: What about your, you know, your business and your future and your employees and all that? Is that going to -- is that all going to all fall in place?

LOGAN: Well, within three days of Katrina, I was evacuated at the University of the South in Tennessee, where my daughter is, and within several days I realized that my employees, most of my employees were scattered like the leaves, from Memphis and Dallas up to New York. And I'd say about half of them have not come back.

Some who did come back have elected just to hunker down and not work for the time being. So the business is dramatically affected, as is our personal life. And it's a story that everyone in New Orleans has. That's the important thing.

M. O'BRIEN: King Logan, you have a Happy Mardi Gras.

And what are you going to send me, a doubloon or two? What -- what should I be expecting?

LOGAN: I'll send you a ton of beads and some doubloons, how's that?

M. O'BRIEN: All right, beads and doubloons. I've been scoring throws all morning long. I've got a golden coconut, now I've got some doubloons and now we've got the EMS, so we're going to send it to Soledad over in the Quarter -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: And I know you're going to share it all, Miles, because that's the kind of guy you are.

A little bit later this morning, we're going to take a look -- we're going to continue that conversation, actually, continue that debate over whether New Orleans should be celebrating Mardi Gras considering all that has happened and, in some cases, not happened in the last six months.

Our very good friend, Julia Reed, has some really strong thoughts on the topic. We'll talk to her about that.

Plus, a little Mardi Gras 101. If you're not right here celebrating, you might need a little help from an award-winning publisher. He's literally been called the nation's premier authority on Mardi Gras and New Orleans. He'll fill us in on what it all means.

That's just ahead.

Stay with us.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Mardi Gras was canceled 13 times. You know, there are very few people who know everything about Mardi Gras and it's colorful history. The one guy might be Arthur Hardy.

He publishes, of course, the annual "Mardi Gras Guide" and he's written, of course, a book that's called "Mardi Gras In New Orleans."

And he joins us this morning with a little more information.

Nice to see you.

ARTHUR HARDY, MARDI GRAS HISTORIAN: Good morning.

S. O'BRIEN: As a girl who grew up in the Northeast, I knew about this much about Mardi Gras until I came here.

Fat Tuesday, of course, literally the transition -- the translation...

HARDY: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: And that means that it's Ash Wed -- right on the cusp of Ash Wednesday.

HARDY: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All the partying stops tomorrow.

HARDY: That's right. Yes, the -- I mean the last day to really experience the pleasures of the flesh, you know, it's the feast before the fast. And we pay for all of the things we did during Lent.

S. O'BRIEN: And you did it during Mardi Gras, during Lent.

HARDY: Yes, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: The tradition dates back to the early 1800s.

How did it get started?

HARDY: Well, Mardi Gras was really celebrated in the 1700s.

S. O'BRIEN: Really?

HARDY: But in the early 1800s we started to see people in costumes on the streets, just perhaps walking from their homes to masquerade balls.

Then in 1837, there was actually a little bitty parade, not organized. But Mardi Gras the way we celebrate it started in 1857, with the first parade of a group called the Mistick Krewe of Comus. Tonight, they celebrate their 150th anniversary.

So this is a really special session for us.

S. O'BRIEN: Tell me about the krewes. And as Miles has been spelling for everybody, this is krewes with the K-R-E...

HARDY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), right. Right.

S. O'BRIEN: ... W-E-S.

It's kind of secretive to some degree.

HARDY: Some are.

S. O'BRIEN: I mean not known a lot about who's in it...

HARDY: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... and how they run.

What can you tell us about the krewes?

HARDY: Well, they're non-profit organizations. They pay for this greatest free show on Earth. And they're just people who get together and want to celebrate. It's a wonderful gift they give to the city, to ourselves and to our visitors. It really didn't start as a tourist attraction, but we're very glad that people come and leave some money, especially this year. We need it.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, I bet.

How have -- how would you assess how Mardi Gras has been this year, I mean as a guy who knows everything about Mardi Gras? The crowds a little bit thinner?

HARDY: Oh, yes, a little bit. But bigger than we anticipated. I've been amazed. And it's funny, in New Orleans I saw people the last couple of days saying gee, it's great, we even have gridlock. And that means people are here, you know? Traffic jams, trash, we're used to that.

S. O'BRIEN: Whoo-hoo, there's traffic.

HARDY: Well, yes, exactly. You know, it's part of us coming back home.

And Mardi Gras this year is just essential, I think, for us to tell the world we're open for business. We're still hurting, but we're off the mat.

S. O'BRIEN: But, you know, as you know, there is this big debate. I mean I talked to a lot of people, a bunch of them in Mississippi, frankly, who say not only is it wrong, but it's an insult for New Orleans to be holding Mardi Gras, an insult, because, you know, they're living in tents.

HARDY: OK, so let's cancel Mardi Gras.

Are they out of their tents?

There's no connection between the two at all. In New Orleans, at least, Mardi Gras will fuel and fund our recovery. The city makes money on this event.

But more importantly, you know, we need to get out of this Katrina funk we've been in for so long. And this is our way of stepping out and saying it's time for the mourning to end and for life to begin again. This is how we choose to do it.

S. O'BRIEN: Are you surprised there's no big corporate sponsorship? I mean that would take a lot of the financial pressure off the real cost?

I mean, you know, out here you've got a police working overtime...

HARDY: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: You certainly have the city crews cleaning up the streets.

HARDY: Well, I wasn't really surprised because a corporate sponsor wants months of exposure and this thing was put together so late they only would have had weeks or days. If we decide to do that next year, I think if we have a year to work on it, we will.

But the city normally spends about $4 million on Mardi Gras and gets back $21 million in tax revenue, direct tax revenue.

So it's going to make money for us. We'll spend less, we'll make less. In a good year, Mardi Gras generates a billion dollars to the economy.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow!

HARDY: And that, too, will be a little down, but the news is that we're doing this, not that it's not quite up to -- how could it be up to normal standards? We're not in a normal mode right now.

But I'm just so proud of the fact we're able to do this at all.

S. O'BRIEN: Hey, you got gridlock.

HARDY: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And that's good news.

HARDY: And a lot of trash on the street, and that's even better news.

S. O'BRIEN: That's right, gridlock and trash, and you're happy about it.

HARDY: I am.

S. O'BRIEN: Arthur Hardy, nice to see you.

Thank you so much.

HARDY: Happy Mardi Gras.

S. O'BRIEN: Your magazine, your guide is just absolutely terrific.

HARDY: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: I've been reading up on it to learn a little bit.

HARDY: Good.

Well, have a good Mardi Gras.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

Let's get right back to Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, hey, Soledad, if I give you a golden coconut, will you give me one of those guides?

Are you there?

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe.

I said maybe.

I've got my guide right here.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe I'll give up my guide. Maybe.

M. O'BRIEN: Maybe we don't have a coconut for you then.

S. O'BRIEN: We can talk about it.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. It's...

S. O'BRIEN: We -- everything is negotiable, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Everything is, yes.

Thank you, Soledad. You know, it's Mardi Gras today, obviously, Fat Tuesday. But the question is what happens on Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, into Lent and the party is over?

New Orleans' problems, of course, are still going to be here and while they do their best to forget all that here today, there's a lot of worries that lie ahead.

We're going to talk to a couple of New Orleans' residents who we have been in touch with all throughout this and ask them what they're most worried about ahead as they take their cause to Washington.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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