Buffalo Rising Online

Sep 6th 2008, 10:15am By Eli George

According to Miguel Santos, one of the founders of the Puerto Rican Day Parade of WNY, starting the parade six years ago was a way of “recognizing that Buffalo’s Latino population continues to grow and we decided that it would be a great way to recognize this segment of the population.” Inspired by the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC, Santos, who is a local activist in the Latino community, got a call from Jose Rodriguez, and the rest is history.

Santos says, “We wanted to make sure that what we did was first class.” Santos said that when they first wanted to start a parade, they were told that it would be useless. Santos says that he was told “the people in that community do not support anything” but that regardless of what they were told, “the people just came out in strong numbers. Everyone was just amazed at the number of people.”

Santos, Rodriguez, and others went around that first year giving presentations and handing out packets with all of the information. They recruited large number of young adults to help, many of which had never been involved with a parade before. Their primary concern was to make sure they followed all of the rules and regulations and had all of the right permits. Now, their efforts have transformed into what Santos says is the second largest parade in Erie County.

Santos also says their parade did a number of firsts, including raising a flag in front of City Hall, putting up a billboard about the event, as well as lining Niagara Street with flags. “That was never done prior to the Puerto Rican Day Parade,” says Santos. The parade does not kick off till 1 PM on September 13 and it begs the question: Why so late?

Santos says that, “It’s important for us to include the children. Children should understand their background.” Santos says that schools with large Latino populations have been getting involved with the parade. The schools are only open for a week by that time, but that they are usually prepared and allow the children who want to partake in the parade to participate.

The parade route runs down Niagara Street, not only because it is where much of the Latino population is located, but because “We want the businesses along Niagara Street to benefit from the crowds,” says Santos. Santos says many do live music and dancing the day of the parade as a way of getting involved. Santos says the location also helps because it coincides with the WNY Hispanic Friends and Civic Association’s concert. Though the two organizations are not connected, by bringing the parade crowd to the concert, both organizations benefit.

Though that first year there was no pageant, now there is a Miss Borinquen pageant. Santos says that “Borinquen” is actually the native name of Puerto Rico. He says their contestants fill out applications and then are trained on etiquette, their backgrounds, wars, domestic violence, public speaking, and they do volunteer work to build character. The pageant takes place at the end of July and the crowned princess rides in the parade.

The parade is a not-for-profit event and everything is voluntary. There is a small fee to take part in the parade, which helps offset costs of flags, application fees, garbage fees, papers, and advertisements. Santos says, “We want to draw positive attention throughout NY to Buffalo and the WNY Region. This is more than just a parade. It is a chance to educate.”

The parade is not a Latino parade because Santos says that making it specific is important to Puerto Ricans in the same way St. Patrick’s Day is important to the Irish, though everyone is welcome to be involved. “People do not recognize Puerto Rico as part of the United States and that every Puerto Rican is a United States Citizen. We take pride in those backgrounds that we have,” says Santos.

Puerto Rican Day Parade
September 13, 2008
1 PM starting at Niagara Square
More Info