It’s Carnival time in New Orleans. Masked revelers roam the streets, laughing, joking, drinking, smoking. Krewes break out their finery, ready to celebrate the season of misrule.
And in this season of profound national misrule, no krewe is better equipped to tell the big story than the little people of ‘tit Rex, the micro parade with great big things to say.
Founded in 2008, the krewe’s raison d’etre is best explained by its founders:
Inspired by Bacchus, the father of all super krewes, the creators of ‘tit Rəx asked: in an age when super krewes are setting the bar for larger and larger spectacles, when route consolidation has resulted in epic evenings of parade upon parade, when the size and velocity of throws has become at times physically hazardous to the recipients, could New Orleans not benefit from one krewe that takes the opposite approach?
With the inspiration that there’s always room at the bottom, ‘tit Rex began a tradition of diminutive satire and irreverence that’s grown in importance and popularity, if not in height.
This year’s theme, “’tit Rex Takes a Nap,” is sadly appropriate. With floats like “Lady Liberty Takes a Nap,” featuring the famous statue from New York harbor with her head in an oven and “Dirt Nap,” with a graveyard of victims like “Empathy” and “The Bill of Rights,” the krewe put their tiny fingers on the pulse of our times.
As Leadbelly sang so long ago, “I’m laughin’ just to keep from cryin’.”
(Note: Though tiny and adorable, some of the floats might not be quite suitable for children of all ages. Should any have difficulty viewing the embedded video, a direct link is here).