NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MAKES INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS  ON ITS PLANS FOR THE 2019 CELEBRATION

Loíza is honored municipality in Puerto Rico, and Houston is honored stateside community Chi-Chi Rodríguez to attend the Parade’s 4thAnnual Golf Outing  to raise funds for the NPRDP Scholarship Program Groups interested in participating in Parade and 152nd Street Cultural Festival can apply online at NPRDPinc.org

With just under two months before this year’s National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) marches up New York’s Fifth Avenue, the Board of Directors made its first set of announcements about to the 2019 cultural celebration. This year’s Parade is dedicated to the municipality of Loíza, in Puerto Rico, which is celebrating the tricentennial of its founding, in 2019. Located approximately 15 miles to the east of San Juan, and home to a population of 30,000 loiceños, Loiza boasts a rich, heritage of predominantly Afro-Puerto Rican influence whose customs and traditions that have added dimension and diversity to the broader Puerto Rican identity and experience. “We Loiceños are honored to receive this distinction from the Puerto Rican community in the diaspora, said the mayor of Loíza, the honorable Julia M. Nazario Fuentes. “We are preparing a magnificent sample of our cultural attractions for the Parada, as an important part of the celebration of the 300 years of the founding of the parish of Loíza; although the settlement of our ancestors on the banks of the Rio Grande de Loíza dates back to even longer ago. This summer will be spectacular, with the rumble of Bombain the streets of New York. We hope to see you all en La Quinta!” Joining Loíza in this year’s dedications is the PuertoRican community in Houston, Texas, selected as the 2019 Honored Stateside Community. Houston is home to Texas’ largest Puerto Rican community, roughly 25,000 people that account for 25% the state’s Puerto Rican population. Primarily a mix of people coming directly from Puerto Rico and others that relocated from New York, Houston’s Puerto Rican community has along history of achieving distinction in many fields, including medicine, education, engineering and public administration.  “We are thrilled that the NPRDP has chosen to highlight the Houston Puerto Rican community in this year’s Parade,” said Nicolás Kanellos, Director of Arte Público Press and leader of the Houston delegation. “Among those in the contingent representing Houston in the parade will be Puerto-Rico born soprano and Artistic Advisor for the Houston Grand Opera, Ana María Martínez, the highest appointed public official, Edgardo Colón, and a float with a number of the writers Arte Público Press publishes.” Kicking off the 2019 NPRDP event calendar is the annual golf outing, which is dedicated to former professional golfer and 8-time PGA champion, Juan Antonio “Chi Chi” Rodríguez. Recognized as the first Puerto Rican to be inducted to the World Golf Hall of Fame, Mr. Rodríguez will be honored as one of the Parade’s Lifetime Achievement Honorees. The 2019 NPRDP Chi Chi Rodríguez Golf Outing will take place on Thursday, May 9 at Pelham Bay Golf Course, 870 Shore Road in the Bronx, beginning at 11:15am. Details on participation, sponsorship and the day’s agenda are available on the “Golf Outing Page” of the Parade website, NPRDPinc.org/golf-outing.   The NPRDP is now accepting participant applications for the 2019 Parade. The Board of Directors welcomes groups interested in celebrating Puerto Rican culture, history and traditions, and all contingents and floats must have cultural elements as part of their presentation. Those interested in participating should visit the “Floats & Contingents” page on the Parade website, NPRDPinc.org/floats, for additional details and instructions for completing an online application.  Applications are also being accepted for artisans, community groups, vendors and sponsors wanting to participate in the 152ndStreet Cultural Festival on Saturday, on May 25 from 11am to 5pm. Set on the corner of 152ndStreet and Jackson Avenue in the Bronx, the family-friendly festival will featurelive musical performances, dancing, celebrity appearances and a children’s pavilion with arts & crafts, storytelling, and face painting. Additional event details and instructions for completing an online vendor application can be found be found at NPRDPinc.org/152nd-street-festival.  The 2019 National Puerto Rican Day Parade will take place on New York City’s Fifth Avenue from E 43rd Street to E 79th St, Sunday June 9, starting at 11am. The celebration will be broadcast live on WABC-TV (Channel 7 in NYC) and streamed online at www.abc7ny.com. The television broadcast will begin at 12pm through 4pm. For more information about the Parade and the NPRDP Scholarship Program, visit www.nprdpinc.org.