The dream lives on No P.R. Day Parade, but scholarships fuel hopes
When she was 4 years old, Caitlyn Blanco looked at a plane overhead and told her mother, “I’m going to fly that.”
With the help of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade scholarship fund, Blanco hopes to do just that, after soaring into college at SUNY Farmingdale in the fall.
“I was obviously amazed, a little bit in shock. It’s a big thing for me,” Caitlyn, 17, told the Daily News.
“Of course there was a loud reaction from my parents,” the Queens teen joked.
Caitlyn is one of 100 students awarded a scholarship from the parade committee this year, even though the coronavirus pandemic has led to the march’s cancellation.
“These are exceptional students,” said Louis Maldonado, the chairman of the parade board of directors since 2018.
“Continuing the scholarship was the first thing we decided unanimously as a board,” he explained.
Since 2014, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade has awarded more than $1 million in scholarships to Puerto Rican students across the United States and on the island.
“These are working-class families,” Maldonado said.
Caitlyn’s award will go toward paying for flight hours and fees.
“It’s going to jump-start the career that I fell in love with at an early age,” she said.
But the scholarship program is not just about academics and achieving dreams. It’s also about understanding Puerto Rican heritage and keeping the culture alive.
“It’s a perfect way to express my identity as a Hispanic-American,” said 18-year old Gabriel Acevedo, a prospective media student headed to Hunter College in the fall.
“We believe strongly in supporting the students of our community and helping them achieve their dreams,” said Neysa Alsina, a National Puerto Rican Day Parade board member and the chairwoman of the scholarship’s selection committee.
Rafael Baez, a sophomore at New York University, called receiving the scholarship — which he has gotten twice — the “greatest blessing on Earth.”
Psychology major Arianna Cintron understands that blessing well — this is the fourth time the University of Bridgeport student has gotten the award.
“The first time I was shocked,” Cintron said. “I am not usually the one receiving such wonderful things. It’s not often people like minorities get a pat on the back or a good job.”
The parade committee strives to change that even as the spectacular, yearly celebration of Puerto Rican pride is muted.
“It’s disappointing to not have the widespread celebration we are used to having,” lamented Cintron. “It’s the one day of the year we get to celebrate our culture.”
Instead of the march up Fifth Ave., a TV special will be broadcast on ABC at noon on Sunday.
“It’s a good alternative, I’m excited for it,” said Baez.