“Everybody Today Is Boricua In New Haven”

Saturday was a scorcher throughout the city, but nowhere was it hotter than the New Haven Green, where the 2024 Puerto Rican Festival brought thousands to celebrate the culture with food, fun, and music.

As a gentle wind rustled the Puerto Rican flag raised the day before in honor of the festival, versions of that flag — big, small, and in every way, shape and form — dotted the Green from Chapel to Elm and Temple to Church, decorating people of all ages, and waved along to the multitude of artists who brought their songs to the party.

The festivities started at 1 p.m. and included tents dedicated to health and wellness, arts and crafts, and even a children’s book giveaway courtesy of Possible Futures. By 5 p.m. a large number of families were settled in their spots at the front half of the lower Green facing the stage, enjoying the wide variety of refreshments and the packed roster of talent that got many up and dancing throughout the day.

Temple Street was closed to car traffic and lined with food trucks and tents serving barbeque, pizza, tropical slushy drinks, and icy desserts. The lines were long but the wait was worth it. Even this reporter decided to have her first sno-cone in almost 50 years. Bori Ice, run by Juan Carlos Navarro and Jacqueline Mendez, where I decided to partake, is New Haven-based and brand new.

“This is our first time, first event, first everything,” said Mendez with a big smile. She recommended the passion fruit-flavored cone, and her recommendation was spot on, a refreshing delight in the heat and humidity of the early evening.

The Bridgeport-based Orquesta Afinke were onstage as I approached the Green; that band got many dancing along to their percussive set. Even those who weren’t up and moving were swaying along in their seats and waving their flags along to the beat. When they shouted ​“una más?” at the end of their set, the crowd screamed back and got what they hoped for, that one last dance.

In between sets, emcees Kelvia Flores and William Newton got the crowd even more hyped for the entertainment with giveaways and raffles, also offering shout-outs to sponsors and gratitude for those in attendance. Behind them and all of the acts stood this year’s mural, painted by David Sepulveda and Amie Ziner and dedicated to veterans.

The ubiquitous flags were stuck in ponytails and swinging off the back of a bicycle. Some wore them in the form of dresses and cowboy hats that could be purchased at one of the many vendors located along the back part of the Green.

One of the entertainers for the day, New Haven’s own OMGApollo, wore one as a cape as he performed a handful of songs for the enthusiastic crowd that cheered him on with big smiles. He joked that he was tired after his first two songs, but you would not have known it with the way he delivered his rhymes and ran across the stage acknowledging the crowds to the left and right.

Another New Haven-based act, GoTime Petey, was joined on stage by KDNS and DJ Dro for a set that saw the two dancing and trading rhymes full of smiles and hyping many up to their feet for a call and response of ​“yo soy boricua.” They also shouted out the Hill, Fair Haven, and a multitude of New Haven neighborhoods, much to the delight of the crowd.

In between sets, DJ Red kept everyone dancing and cheering along. The crowd swelled even more as the two headliners of the evening readied to take the stage.

Four-time Grammy nominee Luis Rodriguez arrived onstage to a thundering response. At this point it looked like thousands of people occupied the Green, peppering it with red, white, and blue and moving to the beats courtesy of Rodriguez and his band. The Philadelphia native shouted out his pride in his Puerto Rican heritage and his gratitude for being a part of this event, working his way across the stage as if he was working to engage each and every audience member. The singing and dancing along increased exponentially. It felt as if he had the whole crowd with him, and with love.

Manny Manuel topped off the night, captivating the crowd with his smile, his songs, and his moves. As he offered his hands and heart to the audience, many threw kisses back, especially during his song ​“Te Amo,” appropriately enough. The Puerto Rican-born musician and singer, known for his merengue, bolero, and tropical, had the crowd in the palm of his hand from moment one and serenaded them. As the sun set over New Haven, chants of ​“Manny” repeated over and over in between songs, with flags raised and waving.

Although the air was still quite balmy, it felt good to dance and sweat it out with such a welcoming and enthusiastic crew. As Flores had said earlier in the evening to a rousing response, ​“everybody today is boricua in New Haven.”