A new Mardi Gras crewe rooted in one of Mobile Carnival’s more obscure masking legends is set to make its debut in 2016, organized by the great-grandchildren of a man once celebrated for his elaborate costume transformations.
The Order of Many Faces takes its name from Louis Diemert, a New Orleans native who became known throughout Mobile decades ago as the "Man of Many Faces" for his intricate masquerade caricatures. Diemert used his talent for disguise to repeatedly win individual masking prizes once offered by the Mobile Carnival Association, and one particularly striking costume even landed him in a national magazine in 1939.
Eight of Diemert’s great-grandchildren came together to found the new crewe, which received official parading status from the Mobile Mardi Gras Parading Association over the summer. One of the group’s primary founders said the idea for the crewe had been in the works for roughly a decade, driven by a desire to restore recognition to an ancestor whose contributions to Mobile Carnival history had largely faded from public memory.
Hardly anybody you talk to really knows about Louis, the founder told local media ahead of the crewe’s debut. It seems sad that he hid so much for the city of Mobile, that he’s been so neglected. I’m thrilled we picked a name that brings him into a bigger light than he’s ever been before.
Another descendant helped keep the family’s Carnival legacy visible in recent years by portraying a central figure in Mobile’s Joe Cain Day festivities during the 2015 celebration, a role that deepened his connection to his great-grandfather’s masking traditions. He has credited his mother’s lifelong appreciation of Diemert’s legacy, since Diemert was her grandfather, for inspiring his own involvement in Carnival culture.
The Order of Many Faces plans to field six floats during the Order of Venus parade on the Monday night before Fat Tuesday in 2016, an appearance organizers are billing as the start of what they call Mobile’s second original tradition. Founders say the crewe was deliberately built to be as inclusive as possible, welcoming members regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation, with membership open to anyone 21 and older.
The crewe’s formation adds another chapter to Mobile’s long tradition of Carnival organizations tracing their identities back to specific historical figures and family legacies. Organizers say they hope the Order of Many Faces will help introduce a wider audience to a piece of Mobile Mardi Gras history that had largely faded from public view, while giving Diemert’s descendants a lasting way to honor his memory each Carnival season.