Carnival for Immigrants

Cologne during Carnival can be terrifying for the uninitiated. They are faced with drunken, costume-clad Karneval enthusiasts singing -- and staggering -- their way down the streets and partaking in the sort of debauchery they'll never admit to once the celebrations have come to a close.

Part of the festival traditions are the Sitzungen. Literally "sessions" or "sittings," the more traditional ones are gala events; the smaller, more alternatives ones resemble comedy or variety shows composed of skits with performers making liberal use of song and dance to mock politicians, each other and themselves.

For American singer and actress Victoria Riccio, who came to Germany nearly 20 years ago, the introduction to a Sitzung was a shocker.

"When I first came here, I went to one of these events and didn't understand a word, but at one point, the people on stage took off all their clothes and jumped around naked," she said. "I thought 'oh my God, where have I landed?' I loved it right away. For me it was like Halloween and the best party you've ever been to, all wrapped into one."

Immigrants take the stage

Still, despite the lure of scantily-clad hedonists and the beer that flows abundantly, Karneval and its Sitzungen can make non-Germans feel like outsiders due to all the inside jokes about local politics and heavy use of the local dialect.

So Riccio, along with emcee Hektor Haarkötter and a host of others, started their own show called the "Immigrantenstadl." It's a gala put on for and by immigrants -- which in Cologne can also mean anyone born outside the city limits.

"A bunch of us met with other artists and musicians in a pub in the southern part of the city and talked for hours, making all sorts of plans for a show," he said. "After a while, someone asked 'who at this table was actually born in Cologne?' And then we realized that no one was originally from Cologne."

Rather than put on a typical Cologne Sitzung performed by foreigners, Haarkötter said the "Immigrantenstadl," which started three years ago, aims to incorporate aspects of foreign cultures for an international audience.

"Cologne's Karneval can be a very traditional thing with a lot of very old styles and ways of having a party," he said. "We try to innovate by integrating special forms and customs from other countries and other cultures. We yodel, we wear Bavarian and Japanese clothes, and we do Brazilian samba and Turkish folklore skits."

Cologne's large immigrant population

There are jazzy numbers in which the performers sing lines like "we've come to stay, we're not leaving" -- referring to the one in five people living in Cologne who has an immigrant background, in an urban population of around 1 million.

Yet, by being semi-outsiders, performers are able to point out the quirky characteristics among Germans -- and even themselves.

During one Immigrantenstadl skit, a Turkish-German actor explains that in Turkey, when someone wants to steal something, the thief waits until a person leaves his house, sneaks in and grabs the item. In Germany, he quips, a person will go to a home, ring the bell, say "hello," take the television and leave a receipt for the item on the table.

Another number shows a Romanian actress who tries to discern the future of Karneval in her crystal ball.

Good-humored mockery

It's poking fun at cultural differences in a good-humored, tongue-in-cheek way that makes the show so appealing, said Julien, a Frenchman who's lived in Cologne for three years. He claimed that, contrary to the stereotype, Germans are able to mock themselves.

"There are some very funny pieces in this show and I like the mixture of jokes about Germans and immigrants in Germany and how they all live here together," he said. "There are a lot of taboos surrounding the subject. In this show, there are no taboos. It's great!"

While the typical Cologne Sitzung is performed in the local Kölsch dialect, which immigrants and Germans from outside the city alike have difficulty understanding, the singers and actors in the "Immigrantenstadl" dole out their mockery of world events in a kaleidoscope of languages, including German, English, Turkish, Romanian, Greek and Czech.

Creating the mood with a beer -- or three

In one funky, hip-hop sketch, a singer in a cowboy hat masquerading as US President George W. Bush complains about his work overload in the White House and Iraq. Splashing around in a plastic baby pool, he takes comfort in his cozy relationship with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

It could be the Turkish hip-hop, the Greek melodies, the Brazilian sambas or the deliberate on-stage mayhem that make the "Immigrantenstadl's" sold-out shows so attractive to both foreigners and locals. Or it could be the chance to take part in a traditional party tilted just far enough off kilter to suit non-traditionalists.

"Put on a really wacky costume, get yourself in a good mood -- although sometimes, if you go to the right place, people can kind of get you into the right mood," said American Riccio, advising newcomers on how to enjoy Karneval. "And of course, I hate to say it, but one or two or three or four Kölsch beers don't hurt either."