After days of smoke from the Canadian wildfires, Bushwick came to life during this weekend’s Puerto Rican Day Parade. Families and local business owners, deep-rooted residents and new city-dwellers joined together for a day of cultural pride.
The fifth annual local version of the parade ran along Knickerbocker and stretched from Menahan Street to Flushing Avenue. Smiling crowds spilled past the barriers and residents hugged and danced with their neighbors in the streets. Locals hung from apartment windows and vehicle sunroofs, while children darted through crowds, twirling flags. Even passing cyclists on their daily commutes raced down Knickerbocker with a Puerto Rican flag on their handlebars. Accompanying pets included a boa constrictor, a happy pitbull being carried, and a shih tzu in a tutu.
Helado pushcarts, usually offering an assortment of colors, served red, white, and blue ices. Cotton candy and pork rind vendors, posted on every corner, generously stuffed bags to visitors hurrying to secure a perfect view on the sidewalk. Every inch of pavement was filled with music, shouts of ‘borinqua’, and cars honking for bystanders.
