The streets of New York City will be flooded with Puerto Rican flags and pride on Sunday, June 8, in celebration of the 57th annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade. The theme of this year's march, titled, "One Nation, Many Voices," will focus on Puerto Rican arts, culture and education.

The parade, which has become a cultural staple in NYC, is one of the biggest ethnic celebrations in the country. In 2012, 80,000 participants marched and almost three million spectators lined up along the streets to watch, the New York Times reported.

The march is a vibrant celebration of Puerto Rican heritage and culture that was started back in 1958 by Puerto Rican leaders in Manhattan's Spanish Harlem in order to show community unity and strength. The first parade was held on Sunday, April 13, 1958, replacing the former Hispanic Day Parade. Later in 1995, the parade was incorporated as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and expanded to include several other activities throughout the weekend.

Each year, the parade attracts a number of celebrities and local politicians who originate from Puerto Rico or are of Puerto Rican descent. The parade has also honored high-profile Puerto Rican celebrities as the "International Grand Marshal," including Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin. In 2009, internationally telenovela actor Osvaldo Ríos was honored as the parade's "Special Guest Star."

This year, Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez, the chairwoman of the board of directors for the parade group, promised that the march will place more emphasis on Puerto Rican heritage, and less focus on corporate sponsors. Each float is also required to display a cultural theme in response to critics who say that past floats were too commercialized.

In addition, organizers have increased student scholarship award money from $10,000 to $30,000 and will hold a food drive for needy families.

Cortes-Vazquez released a statement saying that these changes will help incorporate "more of a community feel, bringing in many more voices, introducing innovation and championing critical causes," AM New York reported.

The 2014 National Puerto Rican Day Parade marches along Fifth Avenue from 44th street to 79th street starting at 11 a.m. Sunday morning and is scheduled to end around 5 p.m. The parade will also broadcast on local New York channels Fox 5 and WOR Channel 9.