BY: Adal Hussain, Chief Editor for World Liberty TV , Sunday August 13th 2023
The annual NYC Dominican Day parade for the Dominican Republic. The parade was on Sixth Avenue (AKA “Avenue of the Americas”, which no New Yorker calls it, but is appropriate for today). The parade was from 1pm to 5pm and started at 36th Street and went, I believe, to 62nd Street (that’s right next to Central Park).
I knew it would be big, but I’ve been to big parades: Puerto Rican Day, Thanksgiving, St. Patrick’s, among others.
I figured this would be well attended. It was more than “well attended”. It seems that everyone who even knows someone in the Dominican Republic was there. Huge crowds.
I was at Bryant Park, the corner of 42nd Street and 6th Avenue. There’s an elevated part and I managed to get to the top of the stairs, about 3 feet higher than the crowd in front of me.
Overall, the crowd in front of me was 6 or 7 people deep. That’s the deepest I’ve seen any parade except Thanksgiving (which is a special case).
Yes, that’s a snake around his neck. We parted like the Red Sea. He was one of three guys with snakes around his neck walking through the crowd (you can see another of them right behind him). After the parade, I saw two more.
Anyway, the parade started at 1pm and the crowd, which was already pretty wound up, cranked the noise level to 11.
The parade featured a number of different participants, but the radio stations seemed to be the all-out favorites. The crowd wanted loud, loud music; and the politicians really didn’t provide it.
There were a few new sights at this parade. There were groups of what I can only describe as “colorful characters”. I’m sure they are symbolic of some folk traditions, but I don’t know what they might be.
Some of them had horns (really long horns) and some had devilish masks, and some just had bullwhips. Yep, bullwhips. That’s a new one on me.
At one point, about 20 characters came out cracking their whips and the crowd loved it. Me, too. Then there was a small group of others and then a group of kids with bullwhips. They were really into it, but they just couldn’t crack the whips like their elders.
The Dominican Day Parade is much more than a parade. Throughout the year, we hold various events including workshops, scholarships, food drives, the annual gala, and parade kick-off events in all five boroughs.
The mission of the Dominican Day Parade of New York City is to celebrate the richness of the Dominican culture, folklore, and popular traditions.
The Parade highlights promote and acknowledge the heritage and contributions of the Dominican community in the United States and throughout the world.
The Dominican Day Parade, Inc. is a nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, that organizes the annual parade and festivities that promote the richness of the culture, folklore and popular traditions of the Dominican Republic.
The organization strives to provide an understanding of the heritage and contributions of the Dominican community in the United States of America and throughout the world.
The parade is a tradition beloved by the Dominican community, but it is only the tip of the iceberg for our organization! For us, the Dominican Day Parade is much more than a parade.
Throughout the year, we hold various events including food drives, the annual gala, and parade kick-off events in all five boroughs.
Understanding the value of education, the Dominican Day Parade takes great pride in providing scholarships and mentor opportunities to exceptional students of Dominican descent.
Through the funds raised from our annual gala, we granted $200,000 in scholarships in 2019 to support awardees through college and post graduate institutions.
Helping these promising young people continue to excel in their future ventures allows us to achieve our primary goal: to support and celebrate the Dominican community!
President Luis Abinader , The Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader was in attendance and was recognized as the Grand Marshal. Other Diginatries in attendance and marching in the parade included: Governor Kathy Hochul, Senator Chuck Schumer, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, Mayor Eric Adams, New York City Public Advocate, Jumaane D. Williams, Congress member, Adriano Espaillat, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, New York Police Department’s Commissioner, Edward Caban and many more political leaders, labor leaders and community in attendance.
See more in our World Liberty TV, Political Blogs by clicking here.
By Adal Hussain, Chief Editor, Sunday June 11th 2023.
NATIONAL PUERTO RICAN DAY PARADE ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR ITS 66TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION ON NYC’S FIFTH AVENUE. Aguadilla, the City of Enchantments, is the honored municipality in Puerto RicoTribute to the music and legacy of Rafael Hernández Marín. The Board of Directors of The National Puerto Rican Day.
Parade (NPRDP) shared initial announcements regarding the 2023 celebration. This year’s Parade is dedicated to the municipality of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.
Founded in 1775, and nicknamed La Ciudad de Encantos (The City of Enchantments), Aguadilla is a city located on the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, on Puerto Rico’s Atlantic coast.
It is best known for its beaches, attracting surfers and other water sports enthusiasts, but Aguadilla also has a vibrant business community, restaurants, and a burgeoning arts and culture scene.
The mayor of Aguadilla, Julio Roldán, expressed being honored by the dedication of the National Puerto Rican Day Parade.
“The National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York is the biggest celebration of our brothers and sisters residing in the United States. It is the celebration of our roots and our national pride.
For Aguadilla, it is a sincere honor that the Board of Directors has dedicated the parade to Aguadilla and to continue making the best of our city known, its people, culture, and identity, as well as tourist attractions. We will be present, taking a piece of our heart not only to the Aguadillanos who reside in New York, but to all Boricuas,” said Mayor Roldan.
Closely aligned to the recognition of Aguadilla, the NPRDP announced a tribute to the life and music of legendary Puerto Rican composer and musician, Rafael Hernández Marín, who is considered one of the greatest Puerto Rican composers of all time and one of the most prolific composers of Latin America.
Born on October 24, 1891 in Aguadilla to Afro-Puerto Rican tobacco workers, Hernández Marín studied music as a child and played for local bands and in small theater productions.
Given his notable talents, he was recruited by the U.S. Army’s 169th Regiment band in Europe, becoming sergeant during World War I. After the war, Hernández moved to New York City, where he opened a music store and wrote some of his most famous compositions, like the highly revered Lamento Borincano. Together with other renowned Puerto Rican musicians, like Bobby Capó, Mirta Silva and Tito Puente, Hernández’ compositions and style impacted the music of New York City in a way that made him and his contemporaries global ambassadors of Puerto Rican music and art.
The NPRDP Board announces new leadership, with Lillian Rodríguez-López assuming the role of Board Chair. Ms. Rodríguez-López has served on the NPRDP Board since 2018 and has served as chair of the Development Committee since 2019.
As former president of the Hispanic Federation, and with an accomplished career in advocacy, government relations and community service, Ms. Lopez-Rodríguez is well poised and committed to continue the work of her predecessors in continuing to elevate the Parade celebration and the organization’s commitment to advancing the educational attainment in the Puerto Rican community, through the NPRDP Scholarship Program.
Other new officers appointed in January 2023 include Miguel Guadalupe as a Vice-Chair, and Lorraine Cortes-Vasquez as Secretary. Vincent Torres and Rosa Gutierrez continue in their roles as Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Board, respectively.
The Board also acknowledged the contributions of Mr. Louis Maldonado, Partner, and Managing Director of d expósito & Partners, former Board Chair who stewarded the execution of the historic Fifth Avenue NPRDP parade, with Emmy-winning broadcasts, for five years.
Mr. Maldonado will continue to serve on the Board. The Board also thanked Ms. Neysa Alsina, Deputy Secretary for Gaming and Cannabis, New York State Executive Chamber, the outgoing Board Secretary for her hard work and commitment to the Parade and Scholarship program as she completed her final year of service.
Now in its 66th year, The National Puerto Rican Day Parade marches up New York’s Fifth Avenue, in one of the United States’ largest cultural celebrations with an estimated attendance of 1 million people.
The annual celebration is one of America’s largest manifestations of cultural pride, celebrating the best of Puerto Rican culture, arts, and achievement, representing the 3.5 million residents of Puerto Rico and more than 5 million people of Puerto Rican descent living in the diaspora.
The NPRDP’s full 2023 event calendar will include the 152nd Street Cultural Festival in the Bronx on May 27th, St. Patrick’s Day Mass on June 4th, the Annual Scholarship Gala on June 10th and the Chi-Chi Rodriguez Golf Tournament on September 6th.
The NPRDP welcomes applications from groups interested in celebrating and representing Puerto Rican culture, history, and traditions in the 2023 parade.
The 2023 National Puerto Rican Day Parade will take place on New York City’s Fifth Avenue from E 43rd Street to E 79 th St, Sunday, June 11, starting at 11am. The celebration will be broadcast live on WABC-TV (Channel 7 in NYC).
Thousands of People marched down 5th Ave of New York City, Katchy Hochul Governor of New York State marched down with Mayor Eric Adams, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, NYS Attorney General , Letitia James, Adrienne Adams , New York City Council Speaker , Many other political leaders in attendance.
The Grand Marshall of the 2023 Puerto-Rican Day parade was Giselle Blondet Gomez who is a Puerto Rican actress and TV host. She also founded the non-profit organization “Fundación Arte por La Paz.
See More about Puerto Rican-Parade 2023, in our World Liberty TV, Political Channels and blogs by clicking here.
Myself and my Photographer and videographer traveled to Cancun Mexico in June 2023, for 1-week trip. We traveled from New York, the total trip was about 5 hours’ flight, which included a layover in Miami.
We have to say, when we arrived it was very hot, the Cancun Airport was packed with people coming from all over the world to start their vacation time. I was seated with Jose from Chile and living in San-Diego California a very nice man, who was attending Cancun for the 4th time in the 6-year period.
I asked Jose what he liked and what’s bringing him back again and again. He went on to say, that when he originally came six years ago, for 2 weeks with his wife. They toured many iconic locations in Cancun and really enjoyed it.
So when he came the Second time, he decided to stay in his resort, swim in the pool, go to the beaches and do sun tanning, read books and listen to relaxing music.
Jose went on to say, he works very hard, in his construction business and these two-weeks he spends in Cancun, really helps him relax and makes him feel good.
I also asked many questions as I traveled from the Miami Flight to Cancun, which was approximately 2 hours and was able to learn a lot from him, believe it or not the best advice Jose gave me was not to drink the tap water, which would give you stomach pains, Diarrhea. He told me to get bottled water and filtered water and drink that at all times. If not, you could be looking for a bathroom on a regular basis during your tour.
The people were very nice, helpful, a good amount of them spoke broken English, cab drivers, people working in tours, restaurants, most of the people in our resorts were Bilingual. So you can definitely get by, if you can speak Spanish it is a plus.
Our First trip was to Isle of Mujers, an all day trip from our resort, from 6-30 am till 8-30pm, it included Transportation back and forth to the location, buffet style lunch which included drinks. Most of the people on trip are tourist from all over the world, doing the tour. The Guide talks to you in Spanish and English, explains the historical locations along the way, so you know the history of the location.
This was the highlight of our trip, we went across a private boat to Isle of Mujer, half way to the island, the boat comes to a stop, and you can swim and do Snorkeling, the water is about 16 feet deep, you must know how to swim, before you go in to the water. Then you swim 700 meters away from the boat, and you start doing your activities.
Once you arrive on the Island, the tour guide drops you off, and tells you that he will see you back at the same location, So we had about 3 hours to explore the Isle of Mujures, now you have a few options here. You can rent a taxi, for 2 or 4 people US $100 , or an golf Cart for a party of 4 which costs, around US $60 .
We rented a Golf Cart with a friend and his wife we met at a resort we were staying at, His name was Delvin and his wife Maria, a wonderful couple. I asked him to drive while I was taking pictures and video-taping , he was very happy to do that , since he loved driving.
The Isle of Mujure’s is approximately eight miles long from one end to the other, so you go one way and come back on the other side, you will not get lost. We made many stops, seeing many beaches, Vendors, Iconic locations and much more. You can view the video in our World Liberty TV, Travel and Tourism Channels, titled: Tour of Isla Mujeres in Cancun Mexico-2023, by clicking here.
Our Next tour was the Chichen Itza, cenote and Valldoid, we set off at 7am from our Resort and came back around 9pm in the evening. This was also a great tour, we traveled in an air condition coach.
Our Tour guide, was Julio a Cancun Native, who spoke great English and joked so much and had us laughing each step of the way. We made a stop at a Mayan Town, where we saw a school, where Mayan Children attended to learn Spanish. Here there was a ceremony conducted by a priest who welcomed us and blessed us, by sprinkling water on us. You can see the historic design houses, shops, jungles where the Mayan Community is living, also we saw many Mayan People working cultivating the land and also making natural medicine for healing purposes.
We had a Buffett Lunch, where we enjoyed Mayan Dancers and singers doing live performance, this was more like a tango with nice outfits on. Then I saw something that was awesome both of the dancers had a beer bottle on top of their heads while they danced, the beer bottle was full and both of the dancers danced for 2 minutes.
The Buffett Style lunch was great Mexican cuisine, all you can eat and you can make many trips to the Buffett stations. Now the drinks including soft drinks were not included.
After that we did a chocolate tasting, Cacao, grown in the region by the Mayan’s. The Chocolate was very pure and tasted very good.
After the Blessing, by the priest and fully belly of food and chocolate tasting we went to get on the bus and headed to our Main event, the 7th Wonder of the World, Chichen Itza.
Once we arrived to our location, I was told at the location, that you were not able to take a microphone, or video camera unless you have a permit. So I asked the officer that I was a media person and I needed to video-taping, so he said you can get a permit and then take it in. Which I was not too happy with the idea. So I paid for the permit and was able to take the camera in.
It was Scorching hot, it felt like 110 Degrees, sun is brutally hot, you must have a water bottle, wear something light like a tee-shirt and shorts to keep you cool.
We had a tour guide Pablo, who took us around Chichen Itza, the Ruins and other locations in the area, explaining the history. I have never seen so many vendors in one location, selling so many gifts related to Chichen Itza, everything possible you wanted to get. Some of the Vendors where making some of the gifts at their booths. A lot of them were very pushy trying to sell to you, which is ok, because that’s how they make their money and survive.
I met one interesting vendor, he was making a wooden Jaguar whistle, it looks like a wooden Jaguar well painted you blow on the top side, and put your hand over the air vent and blow hard and it makes a Jaguar sound. I ended up buying that, so soon as I came home, I blew it and my cat got scared and was trying to figure out what it was, so I told him if you misbehave I will call the Jaguar to straighten you out, lol!.
After that we went to Cenote, In fact it’s considered one of the best cenotes near Chichen Itza, although one of the most crowded, unfortunately. I am not going to go into too much details. You can see the Video titled, Tour of Chichen Itza “Seventh Wonder of World” in Cancun Mexico-2023. In our World Liberty TV, Travel and Tourism Channels by clicking here.
Also we went to the Mayan Museum, this has so many Artifacts on display, you can also walk outside and see many ruins, of many Mayan people and so much history, if you are a museum person this is the place to be.
We also went to the Shopping district , Avenida Kukulkán is basically the main strip in Cancun. Most hotels are located directly on the street. On Kukulkan you can find anything you’re looking for in Cancun. Shopping plazas, high end restaurants, local restaurants, nightlife etc.
Arguably the most popular tourist spot, Cancun’s Hotel Zone (also known as Zona Hotelera) is a long, narrow island with a vast lagoon, Laguna Nichupté, made up of seven lakes. This area has a great variety of activities and a pulsating nightlife.
The City of Cancun is divided into two parts – the Downtown area and the Cancun Hotel Zone. All of Cancun’s nightlife is in Punta Cancun, which is also known as the Party Zone.
Garza Blanca Cancun’s Newly opened Resort is where a lot of celebrities hang out , which includes Boxing great Floyd “Money “ Mayweather.
Travelers visiting Cancun can stay out until 5 or 6am in most Cancun Super clubs. The majority of these hotspots are located in the Hotel District itself, making them a convenient cab ride or bus ride home from an evening on the town.
We had a pleasure of meeting Carlos Barrera and his wife Nora Espinoza, running the Restaurant called Los Chefs, at Coral Mar. He is one of the best chef’s in whole of Cancun, multi-talented, he prepares all kinds of food, including old Yucatan, recipes, Steaks, Pasta’s and every possible Mexican dish you can think of, also the best drink I tasted was the Virgin Mojito (Without Alcholol) He is writing a book about his ventures and comes out very soon. You can see exclusive interview with Carlos Berrera , of Los Chefs in our World Liberty TV, Food and Wine Channels by clicking here.
We had a great time in Cancun, very friendly people, great food, iconic locations and so much more. We only stayed for seven days. Next time we will stay maybe 2 weeks and showcase many more locations of Cancun. You must go once in your lifetime to Cancun.
You can see so much more about Cancun in our World Liberty TV, Travel and Tourism Channels and blogs by clicking here.
