Mardi Gras

776 Words2 Pages

The smell of stale beer in the air, loud music everywhere, people shouting and laughing having a good ‘ole time is what carnival, better known as Mashumani is like in Guyana. When it’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans, however, broken beads and trash are all over the ground, and everywhere one looks he/she sees someone taking off some type of clothing for some beads. Unlike in New Orleans people in Guyana know how to have fun with out taking off their clothes.
I am a native of Guyana, South America, and this is my first time observing Mardi Gras in person. I had heard of the things people do for the objects and trinkets that the masked riders throw off the floats, which is a major aspect that distinguishes Mardi Gras in New Orleans from carnival in Guyana. Guyanese people do not take off their clothes for a string of pearl, or a coconut. Carnival in Guyana is a one-day event, celebrating Guyana’s independence from the British. On this day people dress in bright colorful costumes and dance in the street.
I remember the first time I went to the carnival. I was about seven years old when my mom took the whole family to watch the parades. I saw the brightly colored costumes, as well as everyone’s body and face covered with glitter. I heard the sweet sounds of the steelband playing and people everywhere dancing in the street. The smell of sweat was in the air as everyone bunched up together to see the floats in all their brilliant glory. I can also recall the taste of sweet syrup as I licked it off the snowcone I was eating.
Mardi Gras in New Orleans, however, was a whole new experience for me. On Fat Tuesday I woke up early so I could go to Canal and St Charles Street to watch the parades. The smell of trash filled the air. Thousands of people everywhere. Broken beads, empty beer cups, and cans littered the ground. Some people had many colorful beads around their necks. People were laughing and dancing to the beats of the school bands as they passed along. When the floats got into view, I heard women saying, “throw me something mister,” and I saw them lifting up their shirts and showing their breasts for pearls, beads, a coconut, or a spear. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I witnessed women and even men showing their goods for some colorful beads.

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