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A Mardi Gras to Remember; Olympics Review

Aired February 27, 2006 - 13:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Some Mardi Gras traditions are harder to restore than others, and after Katrina hit one staple of the party was close to being wiped out, but it's back this year, thanks to hard work and a very special legacy.
Sean Callebs reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From their elaborate costumes to their tribal spirit, the Mardi Gras Indians are considered the big chiefs of the annual New Orleans celebrations. But this year is unlike any other. Katrina, at least for now, has changed the fabric of the city, but not the spirit.

VICTOR HARRIS, MARDI GRAS INDIAN: Just because of what happened doesn't stop anything, you know? Because this is our culture.

CALLEBS: The Mardi Gras Indians are mainly African-Americans who lived in the heart of the city and were among the hardest hit by the hurricane. Victor Harris took us to his home in the Seventh Ward.

HARRIS: This is one of the costumes that got destroyed.

CALLEBS: The Mardi Gras Indians say they lost their expensive costumes they call suits in the aftermath of the storm. That means using needle, thread and patience to recreate the outfits.

HARRIS: We coming back. No wind, no rain, no storm will keep me away from this home.

CALLEBS: Or keep the exotic parade from going on.

(on camera): The roots of the celebration go back well over a century. Separated by racism and slavery from other Mardi Gras celebrations, African-Americans found a way to honor their heritage and at the same time embrace Native American culture.

(voice-over): There is a certain mystery to the origin of the Indians. Wayne Phillips is a curator at the Louisiana State Museum.

WAYNE PHILLIPS, LOUISIANA STATE MUSEUM: In the antebellum (ph) era, many runaway slaves found refuge with Native Americans throughout the South and that forged something of a bond, or at least an influence. CALLEBS: Unlike other parades with Krewes that follow specific routes, the Mardi Gras Indians have no predetermined path, staying mainly in their own neighborhoods. LEWIS COLLINS, MARDI GRAS INDIAN: It's a day of expression and giving honor, because that's the day that we honor our ancestry.

CALLEBS: A day, they say, to remember history, revel in art, music, and free expression and this year, a chance to tell the world this city won't buckle in the face of disaster.

HARRIS: There's no other place like New Orleans.

CALLES: Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We're going to talk more about the Mardi Gras Indians and the Mardi Gras traditions and rituals. Of course, who else do we turn to? Arthur Hardy, publisher of "The Mardi Gras Guide," and expert on Mardi Gras history. Arthur Hardy joins me from -- where else? -- live from New Orleans.

Great to see you, Arthur.

ARTHUR HARDY, PUBLISHER, "THE MARDI GRAS GUIDE": I'm glad to be here, let me tell you. Things are really hopping.

PHILLIPS: You and a lot of other people. It's pretty historic.

Listen, let's go back in time. Your book is fantastic, the book on the history of Mardi Gras.

HARDY: Oh, thank you.

PHILLIPS: We really enjoyed it. And you have great old pictures from from one of the first parades, the first parade that actually had electricity and lights to how things started from trucks to floats. Take us back and just kind of give us a synopsis on how Mardi Gras began Arthur.

HARDY: Well, the first reference we have of it in North America was March 3, 1699. French explorer Eberville (ph) was coming up the Mississippi River. This was 19 years before there was a New Orleans, and he knew that day back in Paris was being celebrated as Mardi Gras, so he named the spot Point Du Mardi Gras, and that's how it got here. Mid 1700s, we had some celebration in New Orleans. We don't know what, probably private homes, plantations.

By the mid 1800s, people took to the streets in costume. And then 150 years ago a group of guys got together, and said, you know what, we need to have a parade. We need a secret society to put this on, have a masked ball, and that group is called the Mystick Krewe of Comus, and tonight they celebrate their 150th anniversary of their first Mardi Gras parade ball. Quite an event.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you what, we're going to talk about that Comus ball and parade of 1873, because there's some interesting controversy. But before we get there, let's talk about the balls and parades and what they signify, the royalty and the election of a king and queen. And why was this such an important part of Mardi Gras, the whole aspect of dressing up in costume and masks?

HARDY: Well, the idea of masking and costume really allows everybody to be someone else at least for one day. There's actually a city ordinance that if you're on a float you must wear a mask and a costume, and it kind of lends to the mystique of you're not supposed to know who's throwing you these wonderful gifts. You know, our parades are crowd-participation events. You don't watch a Mardi Gras parade; you interact with it.

So it's an important part of the culture, of the celebration. In New Orleans, everyone has a chance to be king or queen, at least for a day. There's a royalty and a hierarchy in each organization. And if you're lucky, you may be elected in ordinance or selected for king or queen, or a maid or a duke. The person that runs the whole show is called a captain, and they can serve sometimes for life, and they really run the whole thing year round.

PHILLIPS: So by throwing beads, or coconuts or moon pies, is the idea that everybody, like you said, is a king or queen for the day and everybody receives something special no matter who you are or what your background?

HARDY: That's exactly it. Everybody comes together. This is most culturally diverse celebrations on the planet.

And I like to use the analogy is if you are in line for New York for a Broadway play and getting red to buy a ticket, and the actress came off the stage and dug in their pockets and said, wait, I'm going to buy you a ticket, come on in, the shows on us, and we give you free gifts to take home, and that's what we do at Mardi Gras. It almost makes no sense, but I think we just enjoy playing Santa Claus.

PHILLIPS: Well here's something I thought was interesting, whether it made sense or not -- back in 1873, you mentioned the Comus ball and parade. I love this story. Tell our viewers about Charles Darwin and how he responded to this satire on parade.

HARDY: Yes. Well, remember this is the oldest organization found in 1857. But in 1873 we were in the throes of Reconstruction, and the Comus parade decided to make a satire, a lampoon or spoof of political figures, including President Grant. The theme of the parade was missing links to Darwin's origin of species, and the missing links were these politicians. Apparently Darwin wasn't too amused and wrote a little note saying, I guess you guys are just having fun, but I don't think this is to funny. I think it's hilarious.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you know what, it's pretty funny when you think about it. It's true. I guess we can laugh now, right? Hundreds of years later.

HARDY: And we're doing the same thing this year. We're making fun of the mayor, the governor, the president, FEMA. You know, we have to laugh to keep from crying. It's all good-natured fun, but this improved on some of that satire.

PHILLIPS: Well, laughter is some of the best therapy, that's for darn sure.

Arthur, while we talk about history and just the growth of these parades and integration during Mardi Gras, the Zulu Krewe, the first African-American Krewe to roll. Let's talk about how that started. We're seeing a picture now of Arnold Moss back in 1927. Tell us about the first king.

HARDY: Well, the first king was actually William Story, and he was a laborer. This was a group of men who had no money, but decided to almost make fun of the Rex and White (ph) Carnival by having their own parade, and they didn't have big floats or anything. And the first king didn't have a crown. He put a lard can on his head and a banana (INAUDIBLE) scepter.

But the idea was it's inclusive. We want to have fun. Now fast forward, you know, 80 years or 90 years, and Zulu is a major carnival organization, the first parade on Fat Tuesday. It precedes Rex. This year they were hit hard, but instead of folding the tent they said Zulu's going to lead the way back home and that's the theme this year. And they really represent the spirit of new Orleans.

PHILLIPS: On that note of spirit, Louis Armstrong, when he got involved with the Zulu parade, that was a huge deal, not only culturally, but musically.

HARDY: As a child he used to watch the Zulu parade and he tells the story that he promised the lord that if one day he could be king of Zulu that the Lord could take him. And after he got on the float he said, Lord, you can, but please not today.

PHILLIPS: A lot of big stars. I mean not only Louis Armstrong, but Danny Kaye, Bob Hope, we can go on and on of all of the famous people that participated in Mardi Gras. Why has that been such an important part of the parade?

HARDY: It's actually a new part. It's just icing on the cake and the same amount of people will come out to see the parade anyway. Last night we had Dan Aykroyd and Michael Keaton and Bacchus along with Willie Nelson. It's just a little added attraction. Most of the organizations, the royalty is someone within the organization itself, but there's something for everybody and I think the celebrities are a nice added twist.

PHILLIPS: And the celebrities and the parties and the floats, but also these carnival organizations, they're so active in charity as well and that's very historical, isn't Arthur, I mean, that goes back decades.

HARDY: Oh, they've always done something, but done it rather quietly. This year most of the organizations are being very up front about their philanthropic efforts, not to brag, but to get other organizations to do the same thing or to match them. A whole lot of money was raised. We're not insensitive to the tragedies of the city. They hit us, too, but you know, it's time to get out of this train of funk and move on and at the same time help the people who aren't here. We want everybody to come back home.

PHILLIPS: You know a number of the NOPD officers and I remember talking to some of them last week, Arthur, and I called to see if they were going to be off or working during Mardi Gras and they were whispering on the phone because they were at Children's Hospital bringing beads to the kids and I thought, wow! I totally forgot about that part of it and it is so important to the spirit.

HARDY: Oh, it is. We've had men who portrayed Bacchus in the parade last night. That every Bacchus team goes to Children's Hospital and we've had guys completely break up over there, just couldn't handle it and wind up doing whatever they can, writing a big check, saying I've got to do something to help.

There's a philanthropic side and this is a party with an extra purpose. This is still a tale of two cities. There's a lot of hurt here and we're not hiding that, but we think this is our kickoff to the next step which is come on, let's get it down the road and we feel pretty good about ourselves right now.

PHILLIPS: You should. I hope I get to be there next year. It's great to see you again, Arthur. Thanks for being with us.

HARDY: Good. Happy Mardi Gras.

Happy Mardi Gras.

It sold more than 25 million copies since 2003 and now the author of the mega best-seller "The Da Vinci Code" is accused of swiping material from another book. The latest on that lawsuit when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Code red for Dan Brown, the author of the phenomenal bestseller "The Da Vinci Code" is accused of stealing from a book that came out in the early '80s to much less acclaim. The publisher of both books is on trial in London. CNN's Paula Newton is there. Paula, what's the latest?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this case doesn't really have to do with what we consider plagiarism, lifting words from one book on to another. This really has to do about the issue of whether or not Dan Brown stole the ideas from these other authors.

They wrote "The Holy Blood, The Holy Grail" and the premise is about the same. The fact that Jesus, in fact, did not die on the cross and he went on to marry and had descendants. All of this decoded off the paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci. The story is absolutely famous right now and there is a lot of money at stake.

Dan Brown doesn't like publicity but he had to show up today and he will be the star witness in the defense of Random House. He's actually not on trial here right now. The organization on trial is the publisher Random House. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: What about the financial effect and the effect on the upcoming movie?

NEWTON: This is the big deal here. The movie is set to be released in May here in Britain. This court case shouldn't affect the American release, but what it could affect is the British release. I'll repeat again, is there any such thing as bad publicity here Kyra?

The fact of the matter here is everybody's talking about this book and everybody's talking about the movie and many media writers are saying whatever the financial implications are, they will be minute. It seems what Dan Browns and publishers were concerned about is Dan Brown's reputation. Remember, he has a sequel on the way and that could possibly be very lucrative for him again and they want to make sure that his reputation remains intact.

PHILLIPS: Pretty interesting that both books published by the same publisher.

NEWTON: That was one of those fateful things. In fact, The Holy Grail -- "The Holy Blood, The Holy Grail" was a best-selling book in its own right and so really the publisher doesn't have anything to lose. Clearly, the brand, that huge Da Vinci empire that spawned off tens of millions of dollars. It's reported that Dan Brown is now worth about a quarter of a billion dollars and that's huge money, and so they're obviously choosing to support Mr. Brown.

I've got to tell you, Kyra. In that courtroom they are scrutinizing every literary detail. While it means a lot in terms of bucks on the Hollywood stage, it's like a tedious book club in there right now and we're going to have to wait a couple of weeks to find out where the court case goes in terms of the financial implications.

The judge had a great line out of it. When asked if he read the book, said, I read it on holiday, but I didn't read it for a court case. He himself says he has some brushing up to do.

PHILLIPS: A lot of people are interested in it. Paula Newton. Thank you so much.

Straight ahead, hot shot skier Bode Miller was a bust, but other U.S. athletes did capture the Olympic spirit and a few medals. A wrap of the action in Torino straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Winter Olympics are over, but the verdict on the U.S. team is still out. Some Yanks were amazing; others were downright boorish in defeat of behavior.

With the highs and lows, here's CNN's Larry Smith.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Found in the largest city ever to stage a Winter Olympics, a host of fresh faces colored in gold and with personalities to match.

JULIA MANCUSO, WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM GOLD: And they're like do you know you won gold? I'm like I don't know. Really? Yes! I don't know, it's just -- everything is so exciting.

SMITH: Of the nine Americans who won individual gold in Torino, seven were making their Olympic debut, leaving an indelible mark on the 2006 Games.

Some made history.

SHANI DAVIS, GOLD MEDAL SKATER: I'm very proud of these and I can't wait to show my friends back at home.

SMITH: Some made a name for themselves.

SHAUN WHITE, MEN'S SNOWBOARD HALF-PIPE GOLD: The people that don't really speak English as well, they're like tomato, tom-ato, hey, you know? I'm like yes, I'm the tomato.

SMITH: And some just made you smile.

HANNAH TETER, WOMEN'S SNOWBOARD HALF-PIPE GOLD: Everything just clicked, the sun and the vibe and the people. And all the riders were super stoked. So that just made me excited. It was awesome.

SMITH: The youngsters helped take the sting out of the biggest U.S. disappointments: Michelle Kwan forced out by injury a day after she arrived; the men's hockey team, a winner just once; and Bode Miller, Daron Rahlves and Lindsey Kildow leaving the Alps without a single medal.

TIM LAYDEN, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Basically, Bode came here out of shape and disinterested and has skied accordingly.

PHILIP HERSH, "CHICAGO TRIBUNE": They can talk all they want about how the World Cup is more important, but the fact is to their entire country, this is the only thing that matters.

JIM SCHERR, USOC PRESIDENT: We've had very high expectations and we did, as an Olympic Committee, for a certain number of high profile athletes. But if you look at some of the performance leading into the Games, it -- they weren't clearly on top of their game coming here.

SMITH: The snowboarding and the speed skating carried the Americans, combining for 14 of 25 medals. But the latter won gold for its ongoing controversy. Chad Hedrick won three medals and Shani Davis two. But their feud cast a cloud over an otherwise bright spot for the U.S.

CHAD HEDRICK, 3 MEDALS, SKATING: Well, we're going to butt heads every now and then and if you don't butt heads, that means you really didn't have the hunger to go out there and win. DAVIS: I'm sure that our relationship will be fine. I mean we're just competitors. We want to win, so that's all we want to do.

SMITH (on camera): While his teammates quarreled, Joey Cheek made a more peaceful noise, winning gold and silver here and then donating his $40,000 in bonus money to charity, getting in return something money can't buy, the honor of being the flag bearer for the U.S. in Sunday's closing ceremony.

Larry Smith, CNN, Torino.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now, the final medal count. Germany finished on top with a total of 29 medals. The U.S. won 25; Canada, 24. Austria came away with 23. And rounding out the top five, Russia with 22.

Well, we had our own gold medal moments right here on LIVE FROM, and one of the best came in the form of a flying tomato. In the next hour, the two California redheads finally meet in person, and yes, we'll tell you if we actually went grunion hunting.

First, though, a check of the markets.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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