- Puerto Rican Day Parade
The Puerto Rican Day Parade (also known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade) is a locally televised parade that takes place yearly on Fifth Avenue in
New York City . The parade, which is always held on the second Sunday in June honors the nearly 4 million Puerto Ricans on the island itself, as well as the Puerto Ricans and those of Puerto Rican heritage on the mainland. In 2006 more than 80,000 participants marched and nearly 2 million spectators lined the parade route [http://www.latinrapper.com/prdayparade.html 2007 National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York] ] . The parade always attracts many celebrities, both Puerto Rican and of Puerto Rican heritage, and many politicians from the tri-state area.The parade marches along Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 86th Street and has grown to become the third largest parade in New York City after the
St. Patrick's Day Parade & theWest Indian Day Parade along Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn. With close to 3 million spectators annually it is one of the largest parades in the country.History
The first Puerto Rican Day Parade was held on Sunday,
April 12 ,1958 , inManhattan , replacing the formerHispanic Day Parade. In 1995, the parade became incorporated as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and expanded beyond the parade itself. The parade now hosts over seven major events throughout New York City. There are dozens of other events that also take place the weekend of the parade that are not sponsored by the National Parade corporation. In addition to the main New York Parade there are currently over fifty smaller parades that take place throughout theUnited States .The parade attracts many New York politicians, such as mayor
Michael Bloomberg , former mayorRudy Giuliani and also many political candidates running for office and looking for voters in local, state and national elections. In recent years, the parade has honored several Puerto Rican celebrities by naming them "International Grand Marshal" of the parade including singerMarc Anthony , who participated in the parade with along his wifeJennifer Lopez andRicky Martin in 2007 [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/nyregion/12parade.html?ex=1179460800&en=0122f4d0329adb9f&ei=5070 New York Times - Swaying, and Marching, to a Latin Beat] ] . In addition to a National Grand Marshal, a variety of honorees are named for the parade, with titles such as "King", "National Ambassador of La Salsa", and "National Godmother." [http://www.nationalpuertoricandayparade.org/ National Puerto Rican Day Parade Honorees] ] .The heat on
June 8 ,2008 , (96°F) did not diminish attendance. Hundreds came to fill the streets with red, white and blue. The celebrities includedFrankie Negron , Yolanda Vega,Geraldo Rivera ,Luis Guzman ,Frankie J ,Fat Joe and Reggaeton artistsWisin y Yandel ,Arcangel andTito El Bambino . Fifth Avenue was filled with music of Reggaeton and Salsa, people singing "Que Bonita Bandera" and chanting "Yo soy Boricua, Pa que tu lo sepa".In Popular Culture
The parade itself has been featured in an episode of the
NBC situation comedy "Seinfeld " that was titled "The Puerto Rican Day ." In it, Jerry Seinfeld,George Costanza ,Elaine Benes , andCosmo Kramer get stuck in a traffic jam as a result of the parade. Because of controversy surrounding a scene in which Kramer accidentally burns and then stomps on a Puerto Rican flag which results in them being chased by angry Puerto Ricans, NBC refused to air the episode again. [ [http://gothamist.com/2007/06/09/pr_1.php Puerto Rican Day Parade This Sunday] from "The Gothamist" dated "June 7, 2007"] The episode was also withheld from syndication as a result, but has been shown sparingly in syndicated repeats since2002 .The parade was once again portrayed in a negative aspect in a
2001 episode of the long-runningNBC crime series "Law & Order ". After the National Puerto Rican Coalition protested the episode, network executives issued an apology and also retired that episode from repeat airings on the network or on syndication. The company also made a pledge to "improve our procedures regarding sensitive programming issues." [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20010130/ai_n9605478 'Law' producer says NBC caved] from theChicago Tribune ,January 30 ,2001 ]Controversy
During recent years, the presence of gangs such as the
Latin Kings , theBloods and theCrips have been recorded at the event. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/12/nyregion/12parade.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss 208 Arrested at Puerto Rican Day Parade, an Increase] from the "New York Times" dated "June 12, 2007"] In 2000, there were a number of arrests that were result of a wilding attack where many women inCentral Park were assaulted by African-American, Puerto Rican, and Dominican men after the parade. [ [http://archives.cnn.com/2000/US/06/14/central.park.assault.01 More women, girls tell of attacks by mob of men in New York] from "CNN.Com" dated "June 14, 2000"] The attacks, which were videotaped by onlookers, led to the arrest and prosecution of many of those involved. Manuel Vargas, aDominican American who was the suspected ringleader was quoted by the press as saying he "was just having fun". [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2000/06/17/2000-06-17_suspect_just__having_fun_.html Suspect Just "Having Fun"] from the "New York Post " dated "June 17, 2000"]References
External links
* [http://www.nationalpuertoricandayparade.org/about.html Official site]
* [http://media.myfoxny.com/parade/puertoricandayparade.html Fox 5 Coverage of 2007]
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