Carnaval Tropical de Paris on the Champs-Elysées
ParlerParis.com
Monday, July 4, 2011 • Paris, France
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The Champs-Elysées was totally blocked off to traffic yesterday afternoon to make way for the Carnaval Tropical de Paris sponsored by the FCTPIF (Fédération Carnaval Tropical de Paris and Ile-de-France. The sun was bright, the air was cool and the sky was a crystal clear blue. It was a perfectly glorious backdrop to a colorful and festive display of West Indies culture. It's not often one can actually walk straight down the Champs with no car in sight...but it's definitely one of Paris' prettiest sights.
The groups gathered on the streets surrounding the Grand Palais to make their way down the Champs -- groups from France, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Reunion Island, as well as Thailand, India, England, Colombia, Polynesia, New Caledonia and others. They paraded, colorfully costumed, elaborately painted and making music mostly of a calypso beat, all in the spirit of their homelands to a packed crowd of supporters. Twenty-four year-old Martinique-born dancer Céline Patole was elected queen and led the parade wearing gold and dancing all the while.
"The purpose of the Federation is the development, organization, entertainment, logistics, communication and any celebrations and ceremonies connected with the 30 some odd associations to which belong, each one bringing its expertise and vision. The primary objective is the continuation of original cultural practices by the youth that often, because of distance, are in ignorance or disregard of these practices."
It's a noble mission -- but it might not have mattered for all the fun everyone was having. This is just a prelude for what's to come. Today the U.S. celebrates its 235th year of independence and on the 14th here in France we'll be celebrating the 222nd year since the troops stormed the Bastille prison marking the beginning of the French Revolution. Seems like freedom is a pretty precious commodity and for it we have fought hard and now we can simply celebrate...although there have been many times we've had to fight to protect it.
To mark July 4th, I am wearing red, white and blue and will go off my usual low-cal diet to eat hamburgers (with my hands, of course!) at Joe Allen, the oldest American restaurant in the city, having opened in January of 1972. On the 13th, you can bet I'll be dancing at the "Bals des Pompiers" and on 14th I'll be picnicking on the Champs de Mars in anticipation of the annual fireworks display...this time with French wine disguised in soda bottles, baguette and "charcuterie."
Ah, to be in Paris in the "jolie juillet."
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
(photo by Julie Vetter)
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P.S. Be sure to mark your calendars for July 12th when Jeffrey Greene will be speaking at Parler Paris Après Midi! Visitparlerparis/apresmidi.html for more information.
