Puerto Rico Day Parade Day, Time & News: Rita Moreno to Lead Parade, Lin-Manuel Miranda to Be Honored
The Puerto Rico Day Parade will be held this year on June 14 on Fifth Avenue between E. 44th and E. 77th streets in New York City. It will also host a legend as the Parade's Grand Marshal, according to Playbill.
Rita Moreno -- who has the distinction of being one of a few people who have earned an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and Emmy awards -- will be the parade's Grand Marshall this year, serving alongside the likes of the parade's king, salsa superstar Victor Manuelle.
The "Our Pride" Nuestro Orguillo Award will be presented to Tony award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda this year, due to his "inspiring contribution to the American Stage."
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade president, Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez, has also announced that theme for the parade will stay "Un Pueblo Muchas Voces," which translates to "One Community, Multiple Voices."
But there has also been a special commemorative theme added to this year's parade, "Celebrating Afro-Boricua Heritage," which is meant to coincide with the U.N. designation for the next decade as "International Decade for People of African Descent"
"Part of the Parade's mission is to raise awareness about important issues that affect Puerto Rican communities across the board," Cortés-Vásquez said in a statement to Playbill. "The situation at Caño Martín Peña is very similar to the environmental justice struggles faced by Puerto Rican and Latino communities in the United States. Our goal is to educate everyone about what is going on, in an objective way."
What she was referring to is the crisis at Caño Martín Peña, which is a nearly four-mile long canal in San Juan with more than 25,000 residents. The crisis has an environmental, social and economic impact on the whole.
If you would like more information about the parade or other activities surrounding the event in May or June, go the parade organizers website and browse.
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