Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican Day parade brings the party to the Parkway

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thousands in Philadelphia came out to celebrate at the city’s annual Puerto Rican Day parade. The day is a showcase of Puerto Rican culture and heritage that stretches the length of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

“We’re here every year,” said Jose Navarro, a spectator.

Navarro says he came out to see the dancers, the singers and a myriad of other performers use the Benjamin Franklin Parkway as their stage.

“I love everything. I love all the food. It’s amazing.”

He says it’s hard for him to choose his favorite part of the day, but he loves the traditional Puerto Rican dishes his wife makes afterwards.

It’s a little bit easier for volunteer Jose Valentin to choose his favorite aspect of the day.

“My favorite part is the energy. Everybody is screaming. And once you get to the end, where the TVs and the cameras are, everybody’s cheering.”

Valentin has walked in the parade for more than a decade and says the experience never gets old. The parade welcomes more than 1,500 marchers and more than 5,000 attendees.

“We bring together the Puerto Rican community from in and around Philadelphia,” said Adonis Banegas, CEO of Concillio, the organization that hosts the parade.

“Dance performances, singing performances. We have some floats. We also have an amazing group of students who do a variety of different acts.”

Banegas says the day works on a number of different levels.

“Kind of a twofold event: We have some vendors that are sharing community information as well as some information about their services.”