Mardi Gras Moments: The Krewe of Zulu

Last month, IT Editor Janelle Nanos traveled to New Orleans to explore the culture and traditions of Mardi Gras. For four days, she spoke with the people behind the masks — the ones who help make the celebration happen — to get their stories and insider tips. She’ll be blogging about her experiences through February 24th, when the official party begins. Check back for more Mardi Gras Moments throughout the coming weeks.

Larry Roy, the Minister of Fun for the Krewe of Zulu, at the official opening of the “Tramps to Kings” exhibit.

A few weeks ago, I went down to New Orleans to scope out the start to the Mardi Gras season. It was just a few days after Twelfth Night, when the season officially begins, and the city was already beginning to buzz. After arriving at the airport, I explained to my cabbie that it was my first visit to NOLA, and as he drove me into town he mentioned that the “only thing this city is serious about is having fun.”

So I wasn’t all that surprised to meet my two friends waiting for me in my hotel lobby, who urged me to hustle and get dressed – we had partying to do. I happened to arrive on the night of the opening of the new “Tramps to Kings” Zulu exhibit at the Louisiana State Museum, and so we hurried to the center of the French Quarter, where a celebration was in progress in Jackson Square. By the times we arrived, a jazz band had the audience swinging their hips, the warm night air had people spilling into the streets, and I’d already met a half-dozen locals who had welcomed me to town – and I’d only been in town for all of 20 minutes. I felt a little bit like when Annie arrives at Daddy Warbucks’s mansion, and hummed a few lines of, “I think I’m going to like it here.”

The cause for that evening’s celebration was the 100th anniversary of the Krewe of Zulu, the African American Social Aid and Pleasure club that is one of the most famous in the city. The Zulu Krewe developed first as a marching group, and its members adopted the idea for the group from a popular vaudeville skit from the period, “There Never Was and Will Never Be a King Like Me,” dressing up in grass skirts and wearing blackface, traditions that continue today. As the Krewe grew in numbers, it also began to widen its scope by providing for many of its members, offering to arrange funerals and ensure that that they had insurance plans in place. In the 40s, Zulu rose to prominence in part because they named Louis Armstrong as their king, an honorary title that he said was the thing he’d “dreamed of all my life.” They made headlines again in the ’60s when the city allowed them to integrate the parade route on Canal Street.

The museum’s exhibit features highlights from the past century, from a letter that Louis Armstrong wrote describing his good time, to an amazing collection of elaborately-designed costumes worn by its members. There’s also a selection of gold-painted coconuts, which are some of the most coveted of the “throws” tossed off the floats (and apparently, there is a law on the books that says that Zulu is not liable if you’re beaned with a coconut).

The “Tramps to Kings” exhibit will be on display for the next year at the Presbytere at the Louisiana State Museum. Stay tuned for more details from the rest of Janelle’s visit to New Orleans.

Photos: Above, Janelle Nanos; Below, courtesy of the Louisiana State Museum.