|
Puerto Rican Day
Parade 2001
Note: the parade is
always the second Sunday in June
TELECAST
LIVE ON:
WNBC Channel 4
"The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is a New
York tradition that unites New Yorkers as it celebrates the outstanding
contributions of the Puerto Rican people to the history of New York City,
as well as to our City's diversity.
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade started in 1995; the Puerto Rican Day
Parade in New York City began in 1958. The parade features floats
sponsored by businesses, singing, dancing and marching. Last year there
were over 100,000 marchers and 3 million spectators at the parade.
WHEN & WHERE
Note: the parade is always the second Sunday in June from 11am-6pm
Along Fifth Avenue from 44th to 86th Streets
CONTACT
NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE,
INC.
2804 Third Avenue - 7th Fl
Bronx, New York 10455
Tel. (718) 401-0404
Fax (718) 585-9110
JUNE 10, 2001
10 AM - 6PM
Fifth Avenue / 42nd - 86th Streets
New York, NY
Governor Sila Calderon, Tito Trinidad and Marc
Anthony highlight this year's Puerto Rican
Parade events. Festive
and full of music, floats, marching bands, musical groups and
marching contingencies the Parade marches along Fifth Avenue with
the ebullience of a gallant people
outpouring cheers and joy in a
sea of flags and the smiling faces of young and old alike.
Dedicated
To Governor Sila Calderon
Sila María Calderón made history as the first woman to be elected
by majority votes as
Governor of Puerto Rico. Her triumph has
served as inspiration for the feminist movement.
The parade is also
dedicated to Ramón Vélez, president and founder of the parade
and to the Town of Vega
Alta.
Afirmación
de Nuestra Identidad Puertorriqueña (La Fortaleza)
Nuestra Cultura Como Inversión Al Futuro
Boricua
Meaning "The Valiant People of the Sacred House". Derived
from the Taíno name for
Puerto Rico (Borikén: Land of the
Brave Noble Lord). Represents a proud sense of identity.
Quietly Yet Deservedly Proud
Even with seven months left, 2001 could already be proclaimed "The year of Puerto Rico."
Boricua
En La Gran Manzana (El Nuevo Día)
Líderes políticos
de Puerto Rico comenzaron a participar ayer en las actividades de la
Parada Puertorriqueña del domingo, donde Vieques será tema
crucial. Entre festividades y foros
informativos, los boricuas
buscan evidenciar que la comunidad diversa de la Ciudad de los
Rascacielos es vital en la internacionalización de la lucha de
Vieques. "Nueva York es el
segundo lugar de mayor fuerza
de Vieques. El domingo será el día de poner a Vieques
a nivel
mundial", dijo el vicepresidente de la Cámara de
Representantes, Ferdinand Pérez.
Renacer
Viequense - (La Fortaleza)
El sufrimiento de nuestros hermanos en Vieques
ha despertado la indignación de todo nuestro país. Personas de
todas las ideologías, creencias religiosas, de todos los extremos
del País, de todas las
edades y niveles sociales, han hecho suya la
lucha de estos compatriotas que han vivido con una condición
injusta por más de medio siglo. Todo Puerto Rico tiene una deuda
moral con el pueblo viequense que tenemos que convertir en atención
especial a los problemas que confronta hoy por
hoy la Isla Nena.
Parade
Organizers To Keep Family Fun This Year (MSNBC)
Organizers of the sixth National Puerto Rican Day
Parade said Tuesday that they hope to restore
the
gathering's reputation as a family oriented, cultural celebration after
Central Park mob
attacks marred last year's event.
NYC's
Puerto Rican Population (2000 Census)
Puerto Ricans no longer make up a majority of the city's
Latino population. NY1 takes a look
behind the
2000 Census.
The
National Puerto
Rican Parade 2001
Official WebSite for the National Puerto Rican Parade Organization
Hawaii Boricua News
Hispanic Hawaii News Puerto Rican Centennial Album
|
|
QUIETLY YET DESERVEDLY PROUD
By Raúl
Duany
While Puerto Ricans have distinguished themselves over the
years and throughout the world, recent unprecedented events have
highlighted the capability, dedication and great contributions the humble
people of this small 110-by-35 mile Island have offered the world. Even
with seven months left in the year, 2001 could already be proclaimed: "The
year of Puerto Rico".
In a society stamped with the stereotyped Latino machismo,
nearly half of Puerto Rico’s 1.2 million registered voters elected their
first woman governor to lead them into the new millennium and kicked off
the year with the swear-in ceremony for Governor Sila M. Calderón.
In music and film, Puerto Ricans were recently honored in
the United States as Olga Tañón, the 1998 Queen of Calle Ocho’s festival
was awarded a Grammy, and Benicio Del Toro later received an Oscar for his
role in Traffic. Also this year, Puerto Rican boxing heavyweight John Ruiz
defeated heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, becoming the first
Hispanic to win a Heavyweight boxing belt. Finally, or so we thought,
earlier last month, Pope John Paul the Second, beatified Carlos Manuel
Rodríguez, only the second Hispanic and first Puerto Rican beatified to
sainthood.
But two weekends ago Puerto Rico’s visibility catapulted to
a climax, as the Miss Universe Pageant was broadcasted from the Island to
the world, and Miss Puerto Rico’s Denise Quiñones was crowned Miss
Universe 2001. The following day, an undefeated Félix "Tito" Trinidad
crushed middleweight champ William Joppy, and Tito became the first former
welterweight champion to win a middleweight title since Roberto "Mano de
Piedra" Duran did it in 1989.
It has indeed been a great year for Puerto Ricans, but it
must also be noted that the success and contributions of Puerto Ricans run
deep throughout this century.
In the U.S. military, more than 200,000 Puerto Ricans have
fought in this nation’s wars and conflicts, and four of the 39 Hispanic
recipients of the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor are Puerto Rican. For
many years, Puerto Rico has boasted the top two U.S. Army recruiting posts
(out of the 232 worldwide), and has consistently maintained its top-ranked
stats.
In sports, Major League Baseball has inducted two Puerto
Ricans into its Hall of Fame: Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda. Five
Puerto Ricans: Iván Rodríguez, Roberto Alomar, Benito Santiago, Sandy
Alomar and Bernie Williams have close to 25 Golden Glove awards between
them, with Alomar and Rodriguez both with nine. Juan González has been MVP
of the American League twice (96 and 98), Iván Rodríguez (99) and Willie
Hernandez (84); with Orlando Cepeda (67) and Roberto Clemente (66) also
conquering the award in the National League.
In boxing, Wilfredo Benítez is the youngest fighter in
boxing history to win a world title at age 17, and also the youngest boxer
inducted into Boxing’s Hall of Fame at 37, an honor formerly held by
Michael Spinks. In addition to Trinidad and Ruiz, other distinguished
boxing Puerto Rican champs have included Sixto Escobar, Wilfredo Gómez,
Edwin "Chapo" Rosario, José "Cheguii" Torres, Carlos Ortíz, Macho Camacho,
Wilfredo Vázquez, John John Molina, Estéban de Jesús and several others.
In professional golf, Chi-Chi Rodríguez has won 22 Senior
PGA tours and 8 Regular PGA Tournaments during his ongoing 40-year career.
In tennis, Gigi Fernandez - together with Natasha Zvereva -
won 14 Grand Slam titles. Fernandez also won two Olympic Tennis Gold
Medals, at Atlanta and Barcelona.
Marisol Malaret (1970), Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985) and
Dayanara Torres (1993), were the three previous Puerto Ricans crowned as
Miss Universe, preceding the recently named Denise Quiñones. Puerto Rico
now ties Venezuela’s four and both are only second to the U.S.A.’s seven
queens.
Antonia Novello was the first woman and first Hispanic to
serve as Surgeon General of the United States. Aida Alvarez was the first
Hispanic woman and first Puerto Rican to serve as a member of the
President's Cabinet when she was appointed Administrator of the Small
Business Administration in 1997.
Rita Moreno won an Oscar in 1962 for Best Supporting Actress
in "West Side Story," and was also the first woman to win all three major
entertainment awards: the Oscar, the Tony, and the Grammy. Other
well-known Puerto Rican actors included Oscar winner José Ferrer, Chita
Rivera and Raúl Juliá.
There are many other well-respected entertainers such as
four-time Grammy winner Tito Puente, world renown celoist Pablo Casals,
Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jimmy Smits, Grammy winner Ricky Martin,
Jenniffer López, Marc Anthony, and Geraldo Rivera.
But more importantly for us in the State of Florida, close
to half-a-million modest Puerto Ricans are quietly giving this great State
the very best they have to offer. As Puerto Ricans, we are proud of our
accomplishments and pleased to be an important part of our way of life.
But just because we are people known for nicknames such as John Ruiz’:
"The Quiet Man" shouldn’t mean that we should continue being a population
overlooked. Happy 2001, Puerto Rico!
By Raúl Duany
Posted June 4 2001
The author is president of the Puerto Rican Professional
Association of
South Florida, on the Web at www.profesa.org.
Copyright © 2001, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
|
