It's Official....Rex will hit the streets
this Carnival Season 2007!!!
"Rich and
colorful themes, maskers in original
costumes and elaborately decorated
and hand-painted floats all combine
to make the annual Rex parade the
centerpiece attraction of traditional
New Orleans Mardi Gras."
Rex (founded 1872)
is a New Orleans Carnival Krewe which
stages the city's largest parade on
Mardi Gras Day. Rex is Latin for "King",
and Rex reigns as "The King of
Carnival".
Rex parade float on Napoleon Avenue,
mid 1990sRex was organized by New
Orleans business men in part to put
on a spectacle in honor of the New
Orleans visit of Grand Duke Alexis
of Russia during the 1872 Carnival
season. Also in the minds of the founders
of Rex was the desire to lure tourism
and business to New Orleans in the
years after the American Civil War.
The Rex parade is
put on by an organization called The
School of Design. The organization
is related to the private New Orleans
men's club The Boston Club.
One member of the
Rex Organization is each year chosen
to be the monarch of the organization;
he is often incorrectly referred to
by the (technically redundant) phrase
"King Rex". The correct
title is simply "Rex". The
identity of Rex is made public on
Lundi Gras, the day before Mardi Gras.
Rex is always a prominent person in
the city, one who is usually involved
in several philanthropic and civic
causes. Being chosen Rex is one of
the highest civic honors a person
can receive in New Orleans. The Mayor
of New Orleans traditionally hands
over a symbolic Key to the City of
New Orleans to Rex for Mardi Gras
Day.
A consort is also
chosen each year for Rex, and she
is titled the "Queen of Carnival".
The queen is almost always a debutante,
attending college. Like Rex, the queen
is chosen in the spring of the previous
year, and must keep her identity secret
until Lundi Gras.
While historically
restricted to people of European ancestry
for most of its history, Rex had no
trouble complying with the 1991 anti-segregation
ordinances which ended the parades
of the Mystick Krewe of Comus. The
first Rex (businessman Louis Solomon)
was Jewish, although for a number
of years in the early 20th century
Rex prohibited entrance into the organization
of any new Jewish members.
Rex has held more
parades in New Orleans than any other
organization. Its official song is
"If Ever I Cease to Love",
a quirky tune from the 1870s musical
"Bluebeard". This was adopted
because the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia
had a fondness for the actress who
sang the song in the musical, which
was playing in New Orleans at the
time of the first Rex parade in 1872.
It has stuck around since then and
is played often during Carnival.
Rex is categorized
as one of the four New Orleans "Super
Krewes" for the very large size
of the parade; the others (Endymion,
Bacchus, and Orpheus) were all founded
in the 2nd half of the 20th century
and parade during nights in the days
leading up to Mardi Gras. Rex is the
only 19th century krewe and the only
"super krewe" to parade
during the daytime.
The Rex parade has
long been known for very finely and
artistically built floats. Many consider
the Rex parade to be the highlight
and most beautiful sight of New Orleans
carnival. If one looks closely at
some of the Rex floats, they are built
on old cotton wagons, their wooden
wheels leaving scratch marks on the
pavement.
In addition to its
famous parade, the Rex Organization
also holds a private ball for its
membership and invited guests on Mardi
Gras night. In the 1950s, this ball
made headlines when the Duke and Duchess
of Windsor bowed down to Rex and the
Queen of Carnival.
In recent decades,
the Rex ball is held on one side of
the Municipal Auditorium, while on
the other half of the building at
the same time, the Mistick Krewe of
Comus (the oldest krewe), holds its
ball. A rich tradition is that Comus
(the monarch), extends an invitation
to Rex and his queen to join him and
his consort at the Comus ball. This
is called the "Meeting of the
Courts", and when the monarchs
have all made their exits, the Captain
of Comus literally closes the curtain
on the Carnival season. This event
is televised live locally (and to
selected areas outside of the city)
- and many New Orleanians stay up
to watch - despite their weariness
- the very end.
