But before we found ourselves immersed in fiddles, accordions, and gumbo, our incredible hosts Jeff and Cecette Bassett warmed us up the night before with crawfish fettucini and a Mardi Gras parade in Lafayette. Jeff taught us the secret to catching beads but we learned the hard way that when it comes to those strings of plastic beads, it’s every man for himself. But we had an excuse; we had driven through the night from WV.

The atmosphere Tuesday morning was dramatically different. Instead of paved streets, toy vendors, RV’s, cop cars, and high school marching bands, we found ourselves surrounded by crawfish farms, rice fields, backcountry houses, and 300 people ready to sing and dance and party at 8am in the middle of nowhere.  At this Mardi Gras, there would be no bead throwing, there would be no floats, and there would be no parade queens.  In fact, there weren’t even any spectators, except for a handful of locals in lawn chairs.  The celebration was in participating, not in spectating.  And so for that, the one major rule was you had to show up in costume, otherwise you would face whipping and public condemnation. The key element in these outfits was fringe. The more fringe the better.  We never figured out what fashion precedent these costumes were based off of but it sort of looks like a KKK pajama party.  Masks are encouraged, and some sort of hat seemed requisite.  Amazingly, we had all that covered. Jeff and Cecette miraculously appropriated some authentic Cajun party suits for us, even bought us masks, and we were in like Flynn.

From the moment we arrived, we knew we were in for something special.  Jeff and Cecette drove us to the house where everyone was gathering and it felt a bit like going to school on the first day with mom and dad.  We didn’t know anyone; we felt a little embarrassed about our clothes.  And we didn’t know quite what to expect.  But within minutes we had made friends with Holly and Grease who made us swig cinnamon whiskey and holler “Hot Damn!”  If whiskey is good for one thing, it’s breaking the ice.  So there we were, two Virginia boys in pointed caps, cameras on our shoulders,  sour mash on our breath, and not a clue what the morning and afternoon lay in store.  But it was immediately apparent that a day full of beautiful pictures was ahead of us.

What ensued was likely one of the most wonderful days AFP has experienced yet, and ranks up there with one of the best days of our lives.  Very simply we just walked through the Cajun countryside like some sort of tribe, a band of gypsies, a family of bejeweled strangers, dancing and singing to songs from the Cajun canon.  Ok, maybe “simply” isn’t the right word.  At every third house or so we passed, the entire caravan stopped and would beg for a live chicken.  A resident from the house would then hold up the animal, inciting the mob into a frenzy, and then launch the bird into the air setting off a furious dash to catch it.  If the chase wasn’t long enough there might be a 2nd or 3rd chicken throwing.  We must have done this seven times and after each one the band on the wagon would start again and dancing would recommence.  Slowly, we made our way across grass fields, dirt roads, through cemeteries, and eventually back to the house where it all began for a community gumbo and dance. Perhaps it was the cinnamon whiskey that started the day.  Perhaps it was first days of warm weather we had experienced in months.  Perhaps it was that infectious cajun fiddling.  But there was a warmth to this day that will be hard to forget.

If you’re one to usually skim the photos, please take your time with this slide show.  It’s fascinating.  So much so that we purposefully left our written descriptions to a minimum.  Colorful, strange, mind blowing–all words that we use to try to describe the day.

cajun mardi gras from Ross McDermott on Vimeo.

We owe a huge thank you to Cecette and Jeff for opening their house to a couple of strangers and taking us in like we were their own children!  The king cakes and crawfish boil on our last night completed our authentic Louisiana adventure.

Cecette with her puppies Bijou and Zoe behind their beautiful house.

Angola prison, notorious for once being the most violent prison in the U.S., is now home to the famous prison rodeo and hobbycraft sale.  Held in April and October, the rodeo and hobbycraft sale provide a way for low and medium security inmates to get a break from their regular schedule and possibly earn some extra cash.  The privilege to participate in these events has produced an incredible record of good behavior amongst the inmates.  This 18,000 acre prison now has one of the best records in the U.S. prison system, due in part to these two bi-annual events which create quite the buzz in Louisiana and beyond.

Angola is a maximum security prison, however the majority of the inmates live in dormitory style quarters.  78% of the inmates have life sentences.  Angola is a working farm and produces enough food for the inmates and surrounding jails.  The warden estimates that the facility spends only $1.41 each day feeding one inmate.  Angola also has the country’s only prison radio station.

Photographing at this event proved to be a difficult task.  I was told in my communications with the media relations people that we would have limited access to the rodeo, but I did not know the guidelines would be so strict.  When we arrived at the prison and entered through the media gate, (our bags were never checked, which I thought was very strange), we were assigned to a liaison, who then followed us throughout the day monitoring our actions.  I had to request the signature and permission of any inmate included in a photograph; I was not allowed behind any of the fences; I was only allowed to ask certain questions of the inmates.  Our media relations person stuck to our backs like glue.  It felt very restrictive, and only allowed for straight-forward portraiture.

Getting access has become one of the most difficult aspect of this festival project.  It sounds resentful, but it feels that each festival has a staff person solely designated to make the job of a photographer as difficult as possible.

The hobbycraft sale takes place outside the rodeo arena and is so popular that people buy tickets just to shop at this event.  Throughout the year, the inmates make an assortment of items to sell in April and October.  The goods ranged from furniture, to jewelry, to nick-knacks, and art.  Angola prison receives 15% of the sales, while the rest goes directly to the inmate.  The low-security inmates are free to openly sell their goods at a table in the hobbycraft market.  Sometimes it was hard for me to determine of a gentleman was an inmate or a customer.  The man pictured above was selling his jewelry as his wife sat beside him.  Angola prison allows these rare kind of privileges to many of the low-security inmates, which has in effect has set an example for a new form of prison management in the U.S.

This man explained to me that his 4×8 foot painting on a piece of plywood was commissioned for a church, but the pastor backed out of the deal.  He was hoping to find a new church home for the painting.  The price: $350.

Medium security inmates are not allowed beyond a fence when selling their goods.  They have to resort to heckling the crowds from a distance to get people’s attention.

Another aspect of the day are the food vendors maintained by the inmates.  The vendors are associated with a club or chapter of the Angola prison and the proceeds help to support their activities.  Above, the Social Advancement Club offers Oyster Poboys.  Our media liaison told me that the formation of these clubs reduces the number of gangs amongst the inmates.

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The prison rodeo is a very exciting event.  Nearly 4,000 people pack into a sunny arena after filling their bellies on fried fair food.  The inmates participating in the rodeo wait near a section of bleachers for the rodeo to begin.  This is the fourth rodeo in the month of October.  They’ve been competing all along, and today decides some of the big-money winners.  None of the inmates are trained bull riders, nor do they get to practice before the event.  It is extremely dangerous, and in my opinion, possibly suicidal.  Perhaps that’s why these inmates choose to participate.

PORTRAITS

I was not too interested in the actual rodeo itself because it was so bright and was run like any other rodeo one would see in the U.S.  It was certainly exciting to watch though!  I think these inmates were so desperate to win money, or more willing to risk their lives, that they took some serious chances.  Above, a bull charges through a group of inmates during the ‘poker table’ event, in which the last person to move from their seat wins.  It allowed for serious bull-to-human collisions!