Crowd Pleasing Bronx Dominican Day Parade

Sunday July 22nd was the day of the Great Dominican Day Parade of the Bronx, which marched down the Grand Concourse from E 184th St down to E 166th St, in front of over 1 million spectators. There was live TV transmission on Bronx Net and Channel 74 NYC and other Spanish TV stations here and throughout the Americas.

Of the many loud and colorful parades, this is probably the loudest and wildest in New York. Young people waved Dominican flags and strained to cheer on and watch the different musical, commercial and political floats celebrating Dominican culture and the Dominican Republic. There were lots of people dancing in the street and in the buildings on the Grand Concourse waving flags out their windows, watching the parade. There were people out of all races and ages, but especially young people.

There used to be only a Dominican parade in Manhattan, but now, for the 18th year there is a regular parade in the Bronx. Due to heavy immigration since the 1970s and 1980s, the Bronx has become the borough with the largest Dominican population. Dominicans represent 26-percent of the Bronx Hispanic population, and are the second largest Hispanic group, over 200,000 people, after Puerto Ricans.

Stars out on the street included Bachata singer Andy Andy on the Daily News float, and other merengue performers including Joseíto Mateo, Los Toros Band, Mala Fe and José Peña. There were floats representing businesses and different political parties, which are very important due to the large number of Dominicans who cast votes in their homeland, who live here in New York. Floats included singers, orchestras and the Diablos Veganos (the Vegano Devils), people in carnival costumes. The beauty queens had their own float. Ms. Fransheila Ortega, from the Province of Moca, aged 15 was the Duartiana Queen. Cristabel Diaz, aged 17, of Santiago Province was the Queen of the Parade.

There was a dance troupe from Santiago, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic. Among the floats you could see were: Mega 97.9 FM, “El Vacilon de la Manana” (Teaser of the Morning) Program, El Aguila Restaurant, other floats with live meringue music and dancing girls, Well Care of New York, Inc., Cibao Meat Products, Coca Cola, Vitarroz, Miguel Vargas, P.R.D. politician, and Aristy Amable “Presidente de los Pobres” (Poor People’s President).

Adults and children were dressed up in costumes as devils and other mythical creatures, from the Carnival annually celebrated in the Dominican Republic. The Honorary Grand Marshall of the Parade was Michael Max Knobbe, ex-director of Bronx Net, the cable TV station. The directors of the parade were Felipe Febles and Rosa Ayala. Mr. Febles was the founder of the parade in 1989, after working on the Manhattan Dominican Parade. His organization has also created the Dominican Cultural House of the Bronx, and is involved in student scholarships and sports activities. They also participate in humanitarian activities in the Dominican Republic. For more information, please see, http://www.paradadominicanadelbronx.org/.
----------------------------------------------------30--------------------------------------