Written by: Albert Terc
Photos by: Albert Terc
For the last 60 years, Hispanic Heritage has been celebrated in NYC in grand style. The large parade that lasts about 4 hours is a proud display of the many forms Hispanic heritage has evolved into. It is typically held on the second Sunday of October to coincide with the end of Hispanic Heritage Month. Many of the traditions displayed are well over a hundred years old and come from rural parts of Central and South America. Music and dance are a big part of each countries cultural composition as it is with all countries on the planet. Traditional and contemporary costumes were on full display among the thousands of marchers walking or dancing up the parade route on 5th Ave. After the display of flags from all the Hispanic nations occurs, the first marching group from Spain arrived with traditional costume. The rest of the parade goes in alphabetical order starting with Argentina and ending with Venezuela.
Argentina had a smaller group than in years past. There were some traditional gauchos but no tango dancers and live band to get the crowd ready for a spectacular day. But there was a life size Messi cut out poster. Bolivia has one of the largest groups to represent their diversified culture. A slow but scintillating group moving in rhythmic style were the Morenales. The female dancers have the best boots of any parade in NYC. The indigenous Tinkus were dancing a fast paced tune. As always, the crowd favorite are the San Simon Caporales with their shiny and stylish costumes and boots. They always put on a great show for the crowd. I put together a best of video of the Bolivians at the parade. Costa Rica and Chile dressed in traditional costume and even performed the famous handkerchief dance.
Another large group to display contemporary and traditional costume and dance came from Colombia. One of he best performances came from the Shakira dance group. They sizzled 5th Ave. with their hot moves. The Carnival group from Barranquilla brought lots of costumes. Outside of Brazil, Barranquilla holds the largest celebration of Carnival. There were traditional cumbia dancers doing their best moves for the crowd. Highlights of the Colombian group can be seen here. Dominican Republic had a small group of diablo masks and merengue dancers. While Ecuador sent many beauty queens to wave to the crowd. A perennial favorite comes from El Salvador when El Carbonera Marching Band and Twirlers make their way up the parade route. El Salvador highlights can be seen here.
Guatemala always sends a group that kind of freaks me out. The group is dressed in somewhat traditional attire but always have on a Conquistador mask on. The expression on the mask is serious but yet odd. Honduras made some noise with a live band and dancers. Mexico had a few mariachi bands and groups of Catrina costumes. Panama had a large group but mostly women dressed in their traditional polleras. There weren’t any drum and bugle bands as in years past. They did have one of the most colorful floats of the parade. Paraguay had a decent size representation with more women balancing bottles on their head. Peru had a larger group this year with some traditional dancing and their version of Caporales. Uruguay was back after a two year absence with a group of Candombe dancers. Venezuela closed out the parade with lots of fans going crazy as each group marched passed them. This years version of the Hispanic Day Parade was spectacular with lots of culture and tradition on display. I hope you have the chance to see one. It’s well worth it!!!
NYC Parade Life 