The pandemic shut down many activities, concerts, and festivals this year. For Puerto Ricans, even the New York City Puerto Rican Day Parade was canceled this year.
This year the city of Orlando put on a successful show of culture during its own 5th Annual Florida Puerto Rican Parade and Festival. Last year this activity was cancelled, but organizers decided to go ahead with the festivities this year, and to dedicate them to first responders as a way of thanking them for their service during the pandemic. The parade and festival were also dedicated to the Puerto Rican towns of Cabo Rojo and Moca.
The festival included prominent figures of Puerto Rican music and sport including Olympic Gold Medalist Jasmine Camacho-Quinn who made her appearance on one of the parade floats.
As always, music was a prominent part of this year’s festivities. Crowds gathered at the Orlando Magic’s Amway center to continue the party atmosphere. Performers included trovador Andres Jimenez, merengue band Limi-T 21, salsero Frankie Negron, and rock band Algarete.
Besides providing a great atmosphere for dancing, the festival also gave vendors an opportunity to interact with the public. There were artworks of all sorts, most of which included the Puerto Rican flag the unifying symbol of this festival.
One improvement festival organizers should address was a shortage of typical Puerto Rican food. There were only a few kiosks that served Puerto Rican favorites such as alcapurrias, bacalaitos, and empanadillas. Next year it would be nice to see a few more food vendors catering to everyone’s appetite.
It was a hot and humid day on the festival grounds but there were plenty of kiosks set up to quench the thirst of festival-goers. Whether you wanted to partake in a mixed drink, a piña colada, or a tropical fruit juice, there was something for everyone to wet their whistle.
If the dancing and singing were any indications, this year’s festival was an outstanding success.
Pay attention to Florida Puerto Rican Parade & Festival Inc’s website for next year’s festival dates and participants.
Also, make sure to subscribe to the Boricua en la Luna blog for the low-down information on this and other Puerto Rican community events.