Puerto Rican Day Parade in Philadelphia celebrates culture, family and pride
Puerto Rican pride took center stage Sunday afternoon as hundreds marched and danced down Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the 2024 Puerto Rican Day Parade.
Alba Lopez, who attended the parade for the first time, danced on the sidelines as she watched the performers move down the parade route.
"It's very touching to me. Puerto Rico, for me, is my life. I was born and raised over there," she shared.
Lopez, whose granddaughter danced in the parade, said it was important for her family to stay connected to their heritage.
"Most of my kids and my grandkids, all of them, they were born here. But they know the culture about Puerto Rico," she said.
The sense of family and tradition was shared among many paradegoers, including Xavier Garcia, who brought his children. He said he feels a deep connection to his roots.
"Just to know what you grew up from, what your background is, just the love that accompanies it, it's everything to me," Garcia said.
People who marched in the parade shared that it was very meaningful.
Marilyn Rodriguez, who marched with the Asociación Puertorriqueños en Marcha, a Latino human services nonprofit, emphasized the importance of honoring the Taíno people, the indigenous ancestors of Puerto Ricans.
"It means a lot because we're keeping our culture alive," Rodriguez said. "We have to keep sharing where we came from to the young people and the younger generation."
Young participants, like 17-year-old Alexa Escalara, said the parade was a chance to express pride in their cultural identity.
"I think we have our own personal way of showing how proud we are of ourselves and how independent we are of our country and what has got us here today," she said.