New York – María Román Dumén remembers with nostalgia the decade of the 70s when the pillars of the “Puerto Rican parade” in New York were the organizations of the island’s people.
According to him, as part of the dynamic prior to the celebration of Puerto Rican pride in the streets of the Big Apple, the exchange was more personal between the representatives of the different municipalities that made the organization of the event possible.
At that time the “parade” was simply called the “New York Puerto Rican Parade.”
“The parade for those years was more about the community. The town organizations were the pillars of the parade. They were patron saint festivals that were held at the level of the different communities. Monthly, there were meetings with village and non-profit organizations. In other words, there was a type of work with the community…There were reigns, where a child queen, a youthful one, and an older one were chosen. There was more of a link with the community in those times…” describes the community activist in an interview with El Diario.
Román Dumén remembers that contingents of Puerto Ricans came in caravans and with flags to the airport to receive the mayors of different towns on the island who arrived in the Big Apple to participate in the activities. Groups of batuteras from different municipalities were also a distinctive part of the parade in those years.
“When I started in the 70s they were so and so different, because it involved more of the community to be part of the parade. There were many volunteers,” recalled the former aide to NY Governor George Pataki on issues related to the Hispanic community.
Román Dumén contrasted that now most of the parade procedures are carried out virtually; But, in the beginning, it was common for the organizers to meet in a building at 149 The Bronx.
“When, for example, a group of PR people came who needed guidance, they would knock on the door of that parade office where one would guide them in person; They came to collect their credentials. It was a different relationship, person to person,” he described.
“That human part where there was a connection with the town, with the community, I kind of miss that; “Those are the longings,” Román Dumén said honestly.
Like many in the diaspora, Román Dumén is a Puerto Rican with part of her heart on the island and the other in New York.
Although he was born in Arecibo, a town in the north of the island, he spent his childhood, adolescence and part of his university years between Puerto Rico and the Big Apple.
Marina Torres and Ramón S. Vélez, their influences
In the 1970s, guided mainly by Marina Torres, who was special assistant to the mayor of San Juan, Felisa Rincón de Gautier, Román Dumén began to participate in meetings in preparation for the parade as a representative of the “South Bronx” batuteras group. Kids.”
“Marina Torres was the one who directed me to work in the community with this group of batuteras (that she directed), and they went to the parade and I represented that group in the parade meetings, but at the community level,” said the interviewed.
Torres, who later became secretary of the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rican National Parade, is considered one of the Puerto Ricans who transformed the concept of the event starting in 1995.
“That’s when I started volunteering, and I grew little by little in different committees, reign, banquet, gala. I grew until I reached the executive board where we then decided to create the concept of the Puerto Rican National Parade, and in 1995 we held the first Puerto Rican National Parade,” said the islander who in 2000 became the first woman president of the Board of Directors.
Another figure who guided her in her development as an activist in favor of Puerto Rican causes was Ramón Vélez. Vélez, born in Hormigueros, is known as the founder of the Puerto Rican National Parade.
The islander arrived to the city in the 1950s. Vélez was a soldier and belonged to the 65th Infantry Regiment, better known as “The Borinqueneers.” Soldiers from this regiment fought for the US in both World War II and the Korean War.
As part of his management in the parade he brought with him more political airs. Veléz became a member of the New York Council. The Puerto Rican is credited with encouraging the electoral participation of his compatriots in the state and the city.
“He was the one who motivated me and was like a mentor to me, because he taught me the importance of Puerto Rican pride. I have to give credit to my mother, but I give credit to him as a political leader who took me by the hand and taught me the importance of participating in different Puerto Rican organizations. Everything that had to do with Puerto Rico in New York, he involved me…And that’s where I grew little by little, where I obtained important positions until I became the co-founder of the parade,” Román Dumén acknowledged about the legacy. from Velez.
Román Dumén and his work to make the Puerto Rican parade a national one
Román Dumén proudly stated that together with these leaders and others like Madelyn Lugo he managed to make the parade transcend the limits of NY so that it would be recognized in other states and even beyond the country.
“In 1995, we held the first Puerto Rican National Parade. I am responsible for helping to take it from New York to the national level. Remember that the Puerto Rican parade was from New York. The national concept was made in 1995. After about 37 years, we decided that it was important to expand it as a vehicle to create bridges and invite many other Puerto Ricans from other states to also have their own parades. That is why I feel very proud to have been coordinator of the states. We did everything possible to have other parades like the one in California… The first parade in California was part of that movement of ours at the national level,” she highlighted.
The Arecibean’s work on behalf of the Puerto Rican community has been recognized by several entities over the years. Román Dumén received the “Outstanding Hispanic Women Achievers Award” from former Governor Mario Cuomo and the “New York State Women of Excellence Award” from former Governor David Paterson, to name a few.
She was also recognized as one of the “Distinguished Women” in the awards given annually by this newspaper.
As the Puerto Rican parade began to be recognized in other jurisdictions, the event has become more commercialized.
NPRDP Scholarship Program
One of the positive results of this change is the scholarship program awarded by the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP), as the event is currently known.
National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc. is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that leads that and other parade-related initiatives.
In the case of the scholarship program, 100 scholarships valued at $2,000 dollars each for a total of $200,000 are awarded to students of Puerto Rican descent who are making a difference in their communities.
The above is the result of direct donations to the organization from companies and other entities. To date, the NPRDP has awarded more than $1.6 million in scholarships to Puerto Rican students.
“Now they have the opportunity to give more scholarships to Puerto Rican children…That is very important because we must focus on the importance of educating our youth so that they return and finish their studies. That is very important. The Puerto Rican national parade is doing that now,” Román Dumén applauded.
The Puerto Rican parade is the largest cultural manifestation in the US.
The parade, which this year takes place on Sunday, June 9, for the 67th time, is considered the largest demonstration of cultural pride in the United States. The journey along Fifth Avenue will begin at 44th Street and end at 79th Street in Manhattan . The event starts at 11 a.m.
The parade not only brings together Puerto Ricans from New York, but members of other communities and tourists.
At the moment, NY is the second state in the US with the highest number of Puerto Ricans. The Puerto Rican population almost reaches 1 million (990,217), only preceded by Florida, where it is estimated at more than 1 million.
About 3.2 million Puerto Ricans live on the island; In total, more than 5 million Puerto Ricans reside in US states.
During the first half of the last century, Puerto Ricans who migrated to NY looking for better job opportunities, set the standard in terms of economic and cultural contribution, and laid the foundations for the mobilization and development of other Hispanic communities. The Puerto Rican population that migrated from PR settled mainly in areas of East Harlem (El Barrio) and Lower Manhattan, The Bronx and Brooklyn.
Puerto Rican power and influence in NY is still valid
Although, according to data from the US Census Bureau, this population has been reduced in NY and more than 80,000 Puerto Ricans left the Big Apple between 2010 and 2020, the influence and power of the community remains in force. .
“Although the Puerto Rican population has decreased, energy has not. You will notice on Fifth Avenue that, although there may be fewer spectators, the energy is going to be double or triple. That energy, that pride, that of waving the flag in the residences, in the cars, in the clothes, that will never change,” said the also second vice president of 100 Hispanic Women National, Inc.
For Román Dumén, the fact that the parade has become popular beyond the borders of NY has helped to better understand the contribution of the diaspora and strengthened the relationship between Puerto Ricans on “both sides of the pond.”
“Every time something happens in Puerto Rico, the Puerto Rican diaspora is the quickest to respond to Puerto Ricans on the island. They no longer see us as before, in the 50s or 60s. Those who lived here did not consider themselves Puerto Ricans because they were in the diaspora. The Puerto Rican on the island now welcomes the Puerto Rican (from the diaspora), and in that the Puerto Rican parade has helped a lot…” she analyzed.
In that sense, Román Dumén highlighted the central role that Puerto Ricans occupy in the political configuration not only in NY, but at the national level.
“The Puerto Rican elected official has to continue giving importance to what the Puerto Rican vote is, because you may have many Hispanic people here in NY, but let’s be realistic, those who opened the doors here were the Puerto Ricans; The majority of those who vote are Puerto Ricans. We have to give it importance, even though they are moving to Florida, Texas and other states, we still have that power, that platform of the Puerto Rican people,” he argued.
Román Dumén will parade in the delegation of the November Committee organization, since he is also part of the board of directors.
First Puerto Rican parade in New York
The first Puerto Rican parade was held in 1958 amid a division between leaders who considered that the community should have its own celebration beyond the Hispanic American Parade in New York. Amid demands for affordable housing and discrimination, Puerto Ricans grouped together to create their own stop.
The parade was again restructured in 2015 under NPRDP following the investigation led by former state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman into the management of the entity’s funds by the then marketing manager that culminated in the dismantling of the Board . Since then, the entity has been chaired by Lorraine Cortés Vázque z and much of the focus is educational through the aforementioned scholarship program.
In keeping with the educational nature, the evolution of the event also goes hand in hand with tributes to notable historical figures and campaigns to raise awareness about issues and debates that affect the community inside and outside of PR.
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