[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 85 (Thursday, June 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1021]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING THE 55TH NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 7, 2012

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to recognize the fifty-fifth National Puerto Rican Day Parade, which 
will be held on June 10, 2012, in New York City. As one of our nation's 
largest parades, this event recognizes the proud and rich heritage of 
the Puerto Rican community here in the United States.
  The first Puerto Rican Day Parade was held on Sunday, April 13th, 
1958, in ``El Barrio'' in Manhattan. It struck an unprecedented chord 
in the community, galvanizing thousands of Puerto Ricans in a powerful 
demonstration of their rise as an important ethnic group. Over the next 
four decades, the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade became an essential 
and fundamental cultural event in New York City. The parade began as a 
show of strength for the Puerto Rican community in New York, but 
eventually grew into a broader celebration of Puerto Rican achievements 
in New York City and elsewhere. The parade has been so successful that 
in 1995, its organizers increased its size and transformed it into the 
national and international cultural affair that it is today.
  This Sunday, June 10th, delegates representing more than half of the 
states in the United States will join the approximately 3 million 
parade goers who transform New York's Fifth Avenue into a sea of Puerto 
Rican and United States flags. It's a unique event which celebrates the 
rich cultural and political relationship that exists between the City 
of New York and Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans positioned New York as a 
vital and dynamic international, multilingual city that continues to 
welcome individuals from all over the world.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is a unique event 
which represents the richness and diversity that exists in the Puerto 
Rican community, both in New York, nationally, and internationally. As 
a Puerto Rican and a New Yorker, I am proud to participate in this 
year's parade, as I have for many years.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to marching in the fifty-fifth annual 
National Puerto Rican Day Parade, and I am confident that the parade 
will continue to be an important cultural celebration in New York for 
many years to come.

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