Big Chief Juan Pardo talks Black Masking Indians Mardi Gras suits
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Big Chief Juan Pardo of the Golden Comanche tribe has been masking as a Mardi Gras Indian for 20 years. He sat down with WGNO to talk about how the suits are made.
“You begin the process of creating your next suit right after Mardi Gras. The suit is what people begin to know us by. But if you look at us as a tribe, then you understand that it’s ceremonial regalia. That is what this suit is. This is our traditional ceremonial regalia that we individually make,” he explained.
The suit represents an entire year of effort from its maker.
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“As a sacrifice, we have to give up something. You have to give up time. You have to give up events. And also, when you see that suit, you’re looking at one year of a person’s life.”
And the cost to make the suit isn’t cheap.
“I spend until I’m completed. But you can easily be in the range of $6,000 to $10,000. You’re $1,200 in just in feathers. That’s not buying anything else. When I’m in the suit Mardi Gras morning, that’s when it’s finished, and I’m done spending.”
Th thousands of beads and feather are heavy, too.
“You get into from 70 pounds to upward of hundreds of pounds. But I’ve had a suit on easily over a hundred pounds.”
How many beads go into the making of the suit?
“I don’t think anyone’s ever going to sit down and figure out how many beads they’ve actually sewn. But the best thing to say is it’s a lot,” Pardo said as he laughed.
Pardo’s suit features an owl claw that he taxidermized himself.
“When people see my suit this year, you’re going to see all the shades and all the skin tones that exist in this colorful, beautiful thing we call Black Masking Mardi Indians.”
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