[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1104]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO FIFTY-FOURTH NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE

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                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 15, 2011

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to pay tribute to the Fifty-Fourth National Puerto Rican Day Parade, 
which will be held on June 12th, 2011, in New York City. A radiant and 
star-studded event, this parade proudly recognizes the heritage of 
Puerto Rican people here in the United States, and year upon year has 
proven to be one of our nation's largest outdoor festivities.
  The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is the successor to the New York 
Puerto Rican Day Parade, which held its inaugural celebration on 
Sunday, April 12th, 1958, in ``El Barrio,'' Manhattan. The impact of 
the first Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York was immediate and 
resounding. Thousands of New York Puerto Ricans flooded the streets in 
a very public, very proud demonstration of their emergence in the City 
as an important and growing ethnic group. For the next 38 years, the 
New York Puerto Rican Day Parade became a staple of New York's cultural 
life. In 1995, the overwhelming success of the parade prompted 
organizers to increase its size and transform it into the national and 
international affair that it is today.
  On June 12th delegates representing over thirty states, including 
Alaska and Hawaii, will join the roughly 3 million parade goers every 
year who turn New York's Fifth Avenue into a sea of traditional red, 
white, and blue flags. It's a picture unlike anything you will see 
anywhere else in the country. Not only because New York is the most 
international city in the world, but also because of the relationship 
that exists between New York and the Puerto Rican community. It's an 
historic relationship essentially born of mutual benefit and respect. 
Puerto Ricans have helped transform New York into a dynamic, bilingual 
city that continues to welcome newcomers from all over the globe, and 
the City of New York, believed by many to be a place of opportunity, 
has enabled Puerto Ricans to flourish economically, culturally and 
politically.
  The success that the parade enjoys each year is brought about in 
large measure by the continued efforts of a choice few individuals--
women and men of able leadership who believe, as I do, in the unbound 
potential of people of Puerto Rican descent. The Parade's march up 
Fifth Avenue, while certainly the most visible aspect of the 
celebration, is hardly the only event associated with the National 
Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc.'s activities. Each year more than 10,000 
people attend a variety of award ceremonies, banquets and cultural 
events that strengthen the special relationship shared by Puerto Ricans 
and the City of New York.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is an experience 
unlike any other. It signals to all who witness it that the Puerto 
Rican community, both in New York and nationally, represents an 
exquisite tapestry of individuals. Its power can be seen on the faces 
and heard in the streets, as millions come together to joyously 
proclaim their heritage. And so, Mr. Speaker, as a Puerto Rican and a 
New Yorker, and as someone who participates in this parade annually, I 
stand before you and my colleagues in Congress with a full and proud 
heart to pay tribute to the sights and sounds and wonder that is the 
National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

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