National Puerto Rican Day Parade

New York City is the ideal place for many nationally known annual events, parades, traditions and even television shows. People across the country are able to see the Macy’s Day Parade every year on Thanksgiving, with infamous floats, such as Pikachu, and the very traditional Santa Claus that appears at the end, kicking off the holiday season for some who celebrate it. While several people believe this is the largest parade held in the city, it isn’t. Unbeknownst to many, The National Puerto Rican Day Parade held the second Sunday in June each year is the largest parade.
Each year the parade continues to grow, with around 80,000 participants and almost 3 million spectators attending . I’m sure a lot of people wonder why Puerto Ricans even get to have a parade that is nationally aired every year from New York City, so let me seek to enlighten.
In the 1950s, after an enormous amount of Puerto Ricans immigrated to New York City from the island, the first Puerto Rican Day Parade was held in Manhattan. It was very small, but it gained a lot of attention from Puerto Ricans. The Governor of Puerto Rico even flew in to attend the first parade. The parade became national when a group of Puerto Ricans decided to start an organization that would remind all Puerto Ricans of their heritage and that would strive to maintain a positive image of the islanders. They also wanted to build cultural and Puerto Rican contribution to the United States awareness for the country. By creating awareness, they were hoping that they could promote the study and improvement of Puerto Rican culture and the island itself.
Therefore, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade came to be the largest parade in New York City, the highest Nielsen rated event for stations across New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas and known internationally, all because of a few Puerto Ricans that were so proud of their culture they wanted to have a day dedicated to celebrating it.
Today, over 2 million Puerto Ricans attend the parade because of their pride in their culture, roots, traditions and the island itself.
Many celebrities attend the parade each year. Some annual attendees include, Ricky Martin, Mar Anthony, Jennifer Lopez, and the previous and current governors of New York City. The National Puerto Rican Day Parade organization has even nicknamed some of these celebrities because of their contributions each year. Ricky Martin earned the nickname “King” in 2007.

There has been some controversy over the parade, however. Gangs, such as the Latino Kings, have been documented at the event and assaulted people in the past. Also, the parade has received bad reputations from shows like Seinfield, which portrayed the event as an annoyance because of the traffic jams it created. A character in the show burned and stomped on a Puerto Rican flag, then was chased by “angry Puerto Ricans”, causing chaos. While NBC claimed to have removed the show from syndication, it was aired again on television as a “repeat”, and was a part of the DVD set of the episodes. This year, the Puerto Rican Day Parade will go without Captain Morgan, a long time sponsor of the parade, because parade organizers say the rum company will move production of the drink out of the island, and that they haven’t shown any pride or respect for the parade.

The National Puerto Rican Day Parade will be aired on June 13th this year, so while you’re relaxing on Sunday morning, turn on the t.v. to watch good music and beautiful floats. The pride felt from the parade goers will surely inspire you.