National Puerto Rican Day Parade ready for grand return after two-year COVID hiatus
At long last, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is back.
The annual extravaganza celebrating Puerto Rican culture makes a grand return to its traditional format down Fifth Ave. in Manhattan at 11 a.m. Sunday after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers expect more than 1 million spectators to enjoy the floats, music and dancing as the parade travels from E. 44th St. to E. 79th St. on the event’s 65th anniversary.
“The parade board of directors and the community at large are super excited about this Sunday’s celebration,” Louis Maldonado, the parade’s board chair, told Viva.
“Not only is this our first time back after two years due to COVID but we are celebrating a major milestone in parade history — it’s our 65th anniversary. It’s celebrating 65 years of highlighting Puerto Rican achievement, of celebrating accomplished individuals, of highlighting key themes that are important to our community.
“And most of all, just showing the city and the world the best of who we are as a community and as a people.”
The pandemic forced the parade to transition to scaled-down processions on Fifth Ave. in 2020 and 2021, with New York and Puerto Rican TV stations airing two-hour specials to help people celebrate the affair virtually.
Sunday’s big return to the full-scale festivities will feature major star power. Helping to lead the procession as the king of this year’s parade will be singer Nicky Jam, a Latin Grammy winner known for hit songs such as “El Perdón” and “X.”
Brooklyn-born radio personality Angie Martinez, whose nearly two-decade career includes stints with the Hot 97 and Power 105.1 stations, will be the day’s madrina, or godmother, while the Bronx-born, Grammy-nominated rapper Fat Joe, known for songs such as “All the Way Up” and “Lean Back,” is set to be the padrino — godfather.
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona will be the parade’s grand marshal.
Founded in 1958, the parade aims to promote Puerto Rican culture, arts and education while spreading awareness about important issues. The event takes place on the second Sunday of June, with this year’s parade dedicated to the municipality of Cidra, Puerto Rico.
Organizers are also holding a fundraising gala at the Central Park Zoo on Saturday to boost its scholarship program, which supports Puerto Rican college students. More than $1.2 million has been awarded through the fund since 2014.
Sunday’s event will also celebrate Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Michael Carabello with a lifetime achievement honor, while Robin de Jesús — an original cast member of Broadway’s “In the Heights” and a star of last year’s movie musical “Tick, Tick...BOOM!” — will be recognized as a trailblazer.
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is the latest high-profile march to bounce back in New York City amid the pandemic. The St. Patrick’s Day Parade returned to Fifth Ave. in March, while the city’s first-ever Japan Parade took place last month after being postponed for two years. On June 26, the New York City Pride March will be a fully in-person event after going at least partially virtual the past two years.
The return of the Puerto Rican Parade “also signals just how resilient New Yorkers and Puerto Ricans are coming out of the last two years,” Maldonado said.
