The Flambeaux of New Orleans Mardi Gras
by Stan Strembicki
Feb. 8 – March 7, 2019
The Dark Room
Flambeaux, it’s in many ways the essence of the Mardi Gras tradition in New Orleans. It’s grown beyond its early practical purpose of lighting parade route to what some consider an art form.
Flambeaux (plural for flambeau, or a flaming torch) comes from the French word flambe, meaning “flame.” The first official Mardi Gras flambeaux debuted with the Mistick Krewe of Comus on Fat Tuesday in 1857. In the beginning, the flambeaux were needed for revelers to see the Carnival parades at night. Originally, the flambeaux carried wooden rudimentary torches, which were staves wrapped with lit pine-tar rags. That evolved to oil-burning lanterns mounted on metal trays and long poles to prevent the flames from burning the carriers.
Flambeaux was a tradition that arose out of necessity but also illustrated elements of emerging American culture and social classes, as the flambeaux were originally carried by slaves and free men of color, namely Creoles. The torches turned into a spectacle as the men waved and twirled the torches while dancing down the street. Parade-watchers would throw tips to the torch carriers, often 25-cent or 50-cent coins, more in response to the elaborate performances than the light itself.
Although not as common as they were in the past, many of the more tradition minded parade krewes still use flambeaux during their night parades. It’s a hard job, managing to carry a 8-foot pole with a can of kerosene on top and two burners above your head for 5 miles while you march through the parade.
I became interested in what I soon discovered was a culture of the flambeaux, older men, formally called supervisors, trained younger men on the traditions and techniques. One of these men, Clarence Holmes who I have gotten to know over the years, refers to himself as the “King of the Flambueax” and I have been photographing him and his fellow flambeaux for more than 27 years now. This selection of work from more recent Mardi Gras hopes to offer to the viewer some of the mystery and tradition of the flambeaux culture of New Orleans Mardi Gras.
