Paris de Nuit / American Independents

Perusing Magnum's site last night looking for images of Bastille Day I was impressed by all the photographs of people dancing. HCB's is only one of several:

Place de la Bastille square. Bastille Day. July 14th, 1952
Henri Cartier-Bresson (© Magnum)
A similar search of America's Independence Day turns up not one dancing photo. Most of them look more like this:


The Mall in front of the Washington Monument. 4th of July, 1989
Hiroji Kubota (© Magnum)
So in France they celebrate with dance while in America we roast weenies and watch fireworks. A blanket generalization I realize, but surely one with a kernel of truth.

All of which is a long way of saying Happy Bastille Day to all Francophiles. Now go out and shake your thing!