The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
CT Puerto Rican Day parades and festivals planned for summer
It’s time to sing “Que bonita bandera, la bandera Puertorriqueña” at Puerto Rican Day parades and festivals around Connecticut.
Puerto Rican Day parades are a chance to celebrate being Boricua and aim to create awareness and appreciation of Puerto Rican culture and history.
For the President of Puerto Rican Festival of New Haven, Joe Rodriguez, identity and cultural expression are important Puerto Ricans.
“Being able to celebrate the richness of our culture, while sharing it with the broader New Haven community is special,” he said,
For the first time in 20 years, the Connecticut Coalition of Puerto Rican Parades and Festivals participated in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City on Sunday, June 11. The coalition, which is comprised of six local organizations, was created two years ago after multiple earthquakes struck Puerto Rico.
“New York does it right, they do it big and this what Puerto Rican pride is all about,” Rodriguez said. “With the newly created coalition, we decided to demonstrate our strength and unity by registering to be in the New York parade as one large Connecticut delegation.”
Here are the Puerto Rican parades and festivals happening this summer:
Puerto Rican Parade and Festival of Fairfield County
The Puerto Rican Parade of Fairfield County Inc. will be hosting the “30th Puerto Rican Parade and Festival of Fairfield County” in Bridgeport on July 9. The nonprofit organization has been promoting Puerto Rican culture, heritage and traditions in Fairfield County since 1993. The parade will go down Park Avenue and end at Seaside Park where the festival is located. There will be food and vendors along with live entertainment for free.
President of the Puerto Rican Parade of Fairfield County resigned in May, according to a Facebook post.
Meriden Puerto Rican Festival
The 56-year-old Meriden Puerto Rican Festival will return to the city on Sunday, Aug. 6 at Hubbard Park. The festival will feature music, food, crafts and more. No alcohol is permitted.
Puerto Rican Festival of New Haven
The Puerto Ricans United Inc. (PRU) will host the seventh Puerto Rican Festival of New Haven Saturday, Aug. 12. PRU was created because of a growing demand from Puerto Ricans living in the New Haven area. For PRU, it was important to showcase the music “we love as Puerto Ricans,” Rodriguez said. The festival will play bomba y plena, merengue, salsa and other sounds of la isla del encanto.
“If you have lived, worked or visited New Haven in the ’80s, ’90s, or early 2000s, then you remember the Areyto Festival, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, and Loiza Festival were all signs that summer was here in our city,” the group’s website states.
Rodriguez said what started off in 2016 as a small festival in New Haven of just a few thousands people has grown throughout the years.
“I am extremely proud and how receptive our community has been. We are putting together another amazing show,” he said.
Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade & Festival del Coquí
The CICD Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade & Festival del Coquí will return this summer on Sunday, Aug. 10, in Hartford starting at 1 p.m. According to the event’s website, the parade features nearly 3,000 marching participants and is the largest parade in Hartford. Immediately after the parade, the Festival del Coquí kicks off with live music, cultural acts and more. According to the events website, the festival will close with performers who traveled from Puerto Rico for the event.
‘Borifest’
The Waterbury Connecticut Puerto Rican Parade and Festival committee will be hosting “Borifest” on Saturday, July 22 at Washington Park in Waterbury. According to the committee’s website, the festival will feature “some of the best” local Puerto Rican groups, solo artists, cultural acts and performers coming from Puerto Rico to be part of the event.