The streets of Bushwick, Brooklyn, were filled with a sea of red, white, and blue as the community came together to celebrate Puerto Rican Day. The festivities included a DIY speaker setup blasting old-school reggaeton, vendors serving traditional foods like piragua snow cones and coconut ice cream, and a lively display of Puerto Rican fashion.

A Celebration of Culture

The event coincided with the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in Manhattan, which has been a staple of the city’s cultural calendar since 1958. The parade has grown to attract millions of participants and spectators, and has become a communal ritual that is deeply embedded in the city’s Puerto Rican communities.

For many attendees, the celebration was a chance to connect with their heritage and community. As Monica Santos Gil, the founder of New York-based handbag brand Santos by Monica, noted, ‘There’re more Puerto Ricans in the US than there are on the island right now. Now that I’ve been here in the city for 13 years, there’s a lot of longing to be back home.’ The parade and surrounding celebrations provide an opportunity for Puerto Ricans to come together, celebrate their connection to the island, and feel close to home.

Puerto Rican Fashion on Display

The Bushwick event was also a showcase for Puerto Rican fashion, with many attendees incorporating traditional symbols and motifs into their clothing and accessories. Edwin Reyes, a Bronx-based fashion designer, designs a look each year that embraces symbols stemming from the island, such as the Puerto Rican flag and the flor de maga, the island’s national flower.

The celebration was a vibrant display of the diversity and richness of Puerto Rican culture, and a testament to the strong sense of community that exists among Puerto Ricans in the US.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.