Bay Shore parade a display of Hispanic unity, pride during 'difficult time'

Joanne Fuentes-Cruz has lived in the home at 1571 Fifth Ave. in Bay Shore for "64.5 happy years," she said from her front yard Sunday morning, over a pulsing speaker blaring Grammy Award-winning megastar Bad Bunny.

Fuentes-Cruz, 66, beamed as a procession of more than 4,000 people and 86 groups marched past her home as part of the 60th annual Puerto Rican Hispanic Day Parade of Long Island.

The parade has been an annual tradition for Fuentes-Cruz for as long as she could remember.

"My mother was one of the first organizers," Fuentes-Cruz said, adding she participated "many times" as a kid. She waved a small Puerto Rican flag from her sidewalk, embracing familiar faces she recognized from the parade route. "It's good for everybody to get together and see what's out there, who's out there. It's fun."

Onlookers lined up along Fifth Avenue swung their hips and moved their feet to the beat of the music as the parade passed. They wore jerseys of the late Pittsburgh Pirates star Roberto Clemente, a Puerto Rico native, and T-shirts bearing the flag of the U.S. territory.

The tone of the parade was festive, despite the recent presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Suffolk County. Parade organizer Margarita Espada, of Bay Shore-based Teatro Yerbabruja, said in an interview that last year's parade was marked by "confusion" because of ICE, with some groups dropping out.

"This year, they're back," Espada said. "They're marching, they're dancing. ... It's a sign of unity, we're here, and we need to stay here together."

Assemb. Phil Ramos echoed that sentiment on Sunday. Ramos (D-Brentwood) last summer criticized the Brentwood Fire Department for letting ICE agents use its Broadway firehouse as a staging area, leading to East Brentwood Fire Department revoking Ramos' title of honorary chief.

"It's always a source of pride," Ramos said of the parade. "This year it's particularly significant, given the draconian policies coming out of Washington, and what our community has suffered. But I think that these events are important, because in a difficult time, it creates unity within our neighborhoods."

Ramos noted that ICE agents have been spotted near local schools.

"We're under attack right now," Ramos said. "Yet, today will be a day where everybody comes out in the street, celebrates, and demonstrates their unity."

Jennifer Rivera, 39, watched the parade from its start on Fifth Industrial Court, FaceTiming her parents in upstate Utica. Rivera said she attended the parade for the last 13 years. She said she appreciated the unity the parade brought about. At one point, a truck decorated with the flags of several Latin American nations drove by.

"Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, Cuba, Brazil, Chile," she said, listing the nations as the truck passed. "This what people need to see. The more people see people come together, the better this world will be."