CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The 45th annual Puerto Rican People’s Day Parade made its way through Humboldt Park Saturday.
Established in 1978 and making its way along Humboldt Park's Paseo Boricua, between Western and Humboldt, the parade is a chance for those in Chicago of Puerto Rican heritage to celebrate their culture and successes.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together from all across the city and beyond, to just celebrate our culture, our rich diversity, our history here in Chicago…it’s kind of like a big family reunion, you get to see people you haven’t seen in a long time and connect with new friends too,” said parade goer Christina Vera-Bridges.
Hundreds of people lined either side of the sidewalk, waving Puerto Rican flags and cheering on about 2 dozen floats inspired by Puerto Rican culture.
One of those floats was the Puerto Rican Bar Association of Illinois.
“Through our involvement, we’ve increased significantly the [number] Puerto Ricans as judges…I think that’s a plus for us,” said founding member Edwin Reyes.
Reyes told WBBM more representation on the bench in Illinois, means less of a chance for bias to play out in the courts. He shared an example from his time as a prosecutor in traffic court.
“There was a bunch of tickets for people having Puerto Rican flags on their car…celebrating the Puerto Rican Day Parade. I dismissed all those tickets. I said, ‘officer, you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and I’ll be damned if you don’t paint the river green.’ And, he said, ‘since you put it that way, ok,’” Reyes recalled.
Vera-Bridges shared with WBBM just one unique offering from the Puerto Rican culture, a music and dance style called “Bomba.”
“[It] has its roots in African slavery in Puerto Rico, and its become a staple of Puerto Rican culture for this dance…It’s dance, it’s music…when you hear those drum beats, you can’t help but move and dance too,” Vera-Bridges said.
Puerto Rican Fest will continue all weekend long in Humboldt Park.
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