Puerto Rican Day Parade
| Puerto Rican Day Parade (also known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade) |
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| Status | Active |
| Genre | Parade |
| Frequency | 2nd Sunday of June |
| Venue | Fifth Avenue, Borough of Manhattan |
| Location(s) | New York City, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Next event | June 12, 2016 |
| Sponsor | National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc. (since 1995) |
| Website | |
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nprdpinc |
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The Puerto Rican Day Parade (also known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade) takes place annually in the United States along Fifth Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York. The parade is held on the second Sunday in June, in honor of the nearly four million inhabitants of Puerto Rico and all people of Puerto Rican birth or heritage residing in the mainland U.S.
The parade always attracts many celebrities, both Puerto Rican and of Puerto Rican heritage, and many politicians from the Tri-State area.
The parade marches along Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 86th Street and has grown to become one of the largest parades in New York City, with nearly two million spectators annually making it one of the largest outdoor events in the United States. Although, the largest Puerto Rican cultural parade is in New York City, other cities with large Puerto Rican populations also have notable Puerto Rican parades and festivals.
The first Puerto Rican Day Parade was held on Sunday, April 13, 1958, in Manhattan, replacing the former Hispanic Day Parade. In 1995, the parade became incorporated as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and expanded beyond the parade venue itself. The parade now hosts over seven major events throughout the city.
There are dozens of other events that also take place the weekend of the parade that are not sponsored by the National Parade's corporation. One of the longest running is the street fair held one day prior to the parade though the size has changed over the years the heart of the parade has always been at 116th street between Lexington and Second Avenues. In addition to the parade in New York City, there are currently over fifty smaller parades that take place throughout the United States.
The parade attracts many New York politicians including mayor Michael Bloomberg, former mayor Rudy Giuliani, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Charles Schumer, and also many political candidates running for office and looking for voters in local, state and national elections. In recent years, the parade has honored several Puerto Rican celebrities by naming them "International Grand Marshal" of the parade including singer Marc Anthony, who participated in the parade along with his ex-wife Jennifer Lopez, and Ricky Martin in 2007 and 2010.
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Wikipedia