Celebrating the 69th Puerto Rican Day Parade and New York's Vibrant Puerto Rican Community

0:00 Speaker 1 Well, this Sunday today, we’re going to have a very very festive parade on Fifth Aveue. It’s the Puerto Rican Day Parade. And to tell us about it is my good friend. Originally I met him in the Bronx. He was the economic development person for the Bronx and then he was the economic development person for Governor Patachi. And

0:25 Joe Ifia, Well, Joe, we’ve been together for so many times some and so long, and I remember being in the Puerto Rican Day Parade together and marching up Fifth Avenue. Today Sunday is another Puerto Rican Day parade. Can you tell us a little bit about it?

0:44 Speaker 2 Six steed lengths Porade, sixteen ninths Porade on Fifth Avenue, John and they’re celebrating one hundred times thirty five, which means the miles, and they want to celebrate the young people. I think they got a little tired of us old folks and they want to celebrate. They have the reggae Trmero, a rapper Daddy Yankee. They have the Nadaut Torres, who is.

1:21 Speaker 3 Miss Universe and back.

1:23 Speaker 2 I think in ninety three. I remember because I was in the parade and I was asked to be with her.

1:32 Speaker 3 She had just won the Miss Universe contests and.

1:39 Speaker 2 I spent the whole day with her, and she’s back because she’s a TV host and a radio host. They’re also honoring Nidia of Alaska’s who is retiring from Congress, who represents in Brooklyn and Queens. Now, you remember when you ran for mayor.

2:00 Speaker 3 We were we.

2:01 Speaker 2 Had a great float, we had a marching group, and we had then the outgoing governor Fortuno, who was turned limited out and I remember that he was a little.

2:16 Speaker 3 Nervous and so were we.

2:19 Speaker 2 But the crowd went crazy because they had never been a governor in the parade.

2:26 Speaker 3 Before from Puerto Rico.

2:28 Speaker 2 And on top of that, the folks recognized you as Albode Guerto, the grocery storeman, the and and we were like accepted with cheers and not the booze that the governor thought we would have. But hey, Puerto Ricans are everywhere, and they’re a part of every community, and they were an important community in the voting block of New York.

2:58 And there have been many elected officials in.

3:02 Speaker 3 The past and president.

3:03 Speaker 2 As a matter of fact, yesterday Saturday, Bruce Blakeman, who’s running for Governor had a brush there and they invited guests was the now governor of Puerto Rico, Governor Gonzalez, who happens to be a Republican. But also on Thursday, our friend Reverend Ruben Ds was hosting a breakfast Brasso Borriquea, which means embracing the Puerto Rican community for all they

3:43 have done.

3:44 Speaker 3 And you know that he represents.

3:45 Speaker 2 Tons of Puerto Rican and Latino ministers throughout the city of New York. So everyone is celebrating somewhere and doing something. On Saturday, they also had the one sixteen Festival done by our dear friend Nick Lugo. A week ago they had a festival up in the Bronx one hundred and fifty second Street and the annual festival, and then there’s

4:14 the annual Mass at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.

4:19 Speaker 1 Wow, it sounds like, I mean, it’s going to be a beautiful day and things are really I remember that day we marched up Fifth Ave you on the float and Governor Fortuno at that time was afraid they’re going to boom and everybody, everybody was just applauding to him, and it was a beautiful day on fifth A. You

4:42 I’ve always enjoyed Puerto Rico. I remember when we used to run Capital Airlines and we had a reservation center with hundreds of people in that reservation center, and good memories. Always a Puerto Rico. And Joe Ithia, thank you for everything you do for America, for New York and speak out for the Puerto Rican people too, and we’ll catch

5:06 up again real soon.

5:08 Speaker 2 And we thank you John for all your support and all you’ve done for the Puerto Rican community and everywhere, including all the employees that you’ve hired from the Puerto Rican community and all you’ve done with Puerto Rican elected officials.

5:25 Speaker 3 Thank you, John, thank.

5:26 Speaker 1 You, Joe with you, and we’ll catch up again real soon. And I look forward to seeing you at the parade and waving.

5:33 Speaker 3 Okay, you take care.