Patriotism vibrates at Dominican parade in New York

Patriotism was manifested in the Dominican parade in New York, which, after the pandemic, resumed its best enthusiasm after consultation with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Colorful floats lined Las Americas Avenue and 6th Avenue, with all kinds of costumes, representative of Dominican folklore. In America, where they gained political and economic power as owners of grocery stores, restaurants or supermarket chains, they celebrated their achievements with music and hubbub, miles away from their homeland.

With intensive monitoring and security measures, Creoles recreated this Sunday afternoon in a different wayBrings excellence back to this tradition enjoyed as a family.

Bulla, shouts, music and Dominican flags moving to the rhythm of the tambora, quiro and accordion, the basic instruments of the merengue, the country’s indigenous rhythm, were typical of the encounter. Likewise, in the 40th anniversary of the parade, dresses with the representative colors of the Dominican flag were missing: white, red and blue.

Urban rhythms didn’t stop at a day when it was cooler than the past and celebrated their presence in this country that welcomes 75% of immigrants, most of whom live in New York.

“Dominicans!” Y “Long Live Santo Domingo!”Known as the Dominican Republic, despite its capital’s name, was shouted from the floats, prompting deafening screams from the mostly young participants.

Since 1991, when the first Dominican, Guillermo Linares, was elected to the New York City Council, and nationally elected premier, the community has advanced in politics and the business world.

Some are immigrants, others were born in America, and they fully identify as part of this community.

Linares is the first Dominican in the New York State Legislature and the first Latino to head the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.

In 2011 they had their first state senator, Adriano Espaillet, who also made history in 2017 as the first Dominican congressman in the United States.

“We started by electing the first person of Dominican descent since the 1990s. However, now there are 5 councilors (out of a total of 51)” and they are represented in the state legislature and Congress. Democrats. , commented Ramona Hernandez, director of the Dominican Studies Institute of the city’s public university (CUNY, in English).

The parade featured Grand Marshal Ydanis Rodríguez, and the first Dominican mayor, Eric Adams, was appointed commissioner of the Department of Transportation.

Hernández promised that the Dominicans had “taken places little by little” in politics and were “not going to stop where they are” to increase that power, extending to other states such as New Jersey, Massachusetts or Rhode Island. Its lieutenant governor, Sabina Matos, is an immigrant from that Caribbean country.

“In a 30-year period, what other group has progressed so rapidly?” He argued that.

However, they do not limit themselves to the political sphere: they own taxi companies, restaurants, beauty salons, warehouses and supermarket chains, which generate 40,000 million dollars a year, the sociologist said.

For Congressman Adriano Espaillot, who accompanied state Gov. Kathy Hochul this Sunday, the progress is in response to population growth in which the children of immigrants have entered the political arena, and he hopes they will count after the November election. State Senator.

“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re not on the menu,” he said of his community, whose first borough president is Antonio Reynoso in Brooklyn.

Bands, folk groups and carnival characters, the Devils Cojulos and Roba Galina are not to be missed, every year, this great event, this year with the goal of “creating, improving and elevating the Dominican heritage”.