Fat Tuesday, Ash Wednesday Kicks Off Lent Season

by Tony Vindell/LFN

The forty days of penitence known as Lent has officially begun and will last until the day before Easter Sunday.

It starts with Ash Wednesday, this time celebrated on March 6.

But for some people, Fat Tuesday, which falls the day before Ash Wednesday, kicks off the season,
Catholic churches all over the Rio Grande Valley distributed ashes either during Mass or just for the occasion on Ash Wednesday.

In New Orleans Bourbon Street, Fat Tuesday is celebrated with a carnival while in other countries such as in Colombia and in Brazil the carnivals last four days.

And In Brownsville, it has been celebrated at the Vermillion Restaurant for many years.

Some people dress up with costumes similar to the ones seen at the famous carnivals.

Zydeco tunes are played through the night and Cajun-styled food like gumbo and jambalaya are served at the eatery that turns itself into a New Orleans-styled place for one night of the year.

George Perez, the business owner, said they started celebrating Fat Tuesday 18 years ago first as a customer appreciation day but it turned into a bigger celebration.

For Los Fresnos residents, Juan Manuel and Romie Aguilera, and Celedonio Cardenas and Moraima Chacon of Brownsville, the Fat Tuesday celebration was new to them.

“This is our first time here,” he said as people kept playing a number of prize winning contests such as musical chairs and hula hoops. “This is fun.”

The four participated in the contest but only Cardenas won a $50 gift certificate in a contest in which whoever threw a large bead necklace around the neck of another person three times first took the prize.
Patricia Garcia said she has been attending Fat Tuesday for more than five years at the Brownsville restaurant.

Asked if she follows the traditions during the Lent season, Garcia said: “Of course.”

“I always get the ashes on Ash Wednesday,” she said, “and eat fish and other healthier foods each Friday until Passover.”