This year marks the 56 annual event associated with the Puerto Rican Day Parade which evolved from the the Desfile Puertorriqueño, Inc many years ago. The first parade was held on Sunday, April 13, 1958, in Spanish Harlem “El Barrio”. Parades mean many different things to people. Some individuals like to celebrate with music and festivals, while others enjoy the cultural pride and status of having a parade held on fifth avenue in their honor. Then their are those individuals who feel a parade is merrily pandering to a specific ethnic/cultural group and using the event to advertise products to a niche demographic as well as an opportunity for many politicians to flex their multicultural muscle.
I have attended the National Puerto Rican Day Parade a hand full of times. Growing up in the south Bronx in the 1990′s it was not uncommon to see a sea of red,white,and blue with a single star hanging from apartment windows, draped over sport’s cars and minivans alike. It was understood that the 1st Sunday in June was “Puerto Rico” day in my neighborhood and their were about three solid options one could chose from in order to successfuly observe it. The first and most obvious choice was to actually attend the parade unless you have a legitimate excuse such as a wedding, death in the family or you are physically unable to attend. The second choice was to watch it on TV either with family and/or friends. The third and my most recurrent choice was to simply go to church, unless your church was involved in marching in the parade in which case choice one would be fulfilled.
When I did attend the parade I realized my experience would vary based on a few key variables; location, attire, and company. It would surprise some people who have never attended this parade to realize that their are actually s few locations along fifth avenue that are family oriented and amicable. That location was (back when I used to attend) right by 70th street towards the tail end of the parade. Although I have not done a case study, my opinion as to why this location was the most family friendly was because their was always more room for strollers and for patrons to move around. It also matters how one dresses for the parade if you want to be left alone and respected as a family man/woman try not dressing like you want to a night club at 11:30 AM! Finally, I realized that if you go to the parade with your family it will most likely be a different experience than going with a group of your peers. The company you go with matters!
This brings me to my last point which is, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade must return to its roots of honor, dignity and service to the people it boastfully declares it represents! Their is also an added caveat, which is, that the Puerto Rican community undoubtedly fought for the rights of Latinos before their was even a diverse coalition of pan-latinos in New York City.
This fight for equality against disenfranchisement and explotation continues to this day, with protests over the misuse of the National Puerto Rican Parade logo on Coors Light cans! As well as offensive slogans saying “escuchar las voces de tu isla ” translates to “Listen to the voices of your island” implying that COORS LIGHT speaks for the entire island. In 2009 another offensive slogan was used by Coors light saying “EmBORICUAte” which is a made-up Spanish word for “Become Puerto Rican.” However, for my spanish speakers out there ”EmBORICUAte” sounds almost exactly like a real word spanish word “emborrachate,” which means “get drunk”!
I call for NOT ONLY people of Puerto Rican heritage but all Latinos to stand up for what is right and demand that WE STOP being EXPLOITED by corporations! That includes corporations that identify themselves as “Latino” because those corporations are also blinded by the sight of millions of our hard heard dollars!
We have to understand that our power is in our VOICE, NUMBER and MONEY!
We must use our voice to express how we feel and create a plan of action in order to get what we need!
We must use our number of people to mobilize, boycott, protest in order to get what we need!
We must use our money and support what we believe to be positive and progressive images for our communities.
-Project Bronx
