Puerto Rican Day Parade

Narrator: Fifth Avenue pulsed with a Latin beat Sunday as thousands of New Yorkers gathered for the annual Puerto Rican Day parade. The parade commemorates a major anniversary for Puerto Rico: it was five hundred years ago that Columbus first discovered the island.

Puerto Rican Woman 1: We as Puerto Ricans in New York City, and among this nation, we should do the best for the dignity and respect of our country.

Man 1: Everything is wonderful. We are having a great time here.

Puerto Rican Teen Queen: All the parade and all that it is for me is something very special and makes me feel very proud of my people.

Narrator: Dozens of vibrant floats filled the parade which stretched between forty-fourth and eighty-eighth streets. Spectators lined the blocks, dancing to the salsa sounds of entertainers like Tito Puente. Many of the city's politicians joined in the festivities, including Mayor Dinkins and Nydia Velazquez, the first Puerto Rican woman to be elected to the House of Representatives. But the parade was more than just a one-day festival, it brought families together from across the country.

Puerto Rican Woman 2: I came from Iowa to be here with my people. ¡Arriba! ¡Qué viva Puerto Rico! I love it, it's great!

Narrator: And there were many reunions, officials estimate over 20,000 people traveled from Puerto Rico to New York for the parade.

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