BengalNews Reporters
Dinorah
Santos danced her way into the hearts of the committee for the 11th Annual
Puerto Rican and Hispanic Day Parade using her hands instead of her feet.
Santo’s
winning poster is one of the many changes to come for this year’s parade on Sept. 7.
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| From left, John Carter, Dinorah Santos and Charles Torres |
Each year a poster contest is held and the public is encouraged to submit artwork which relates to the parade’s theme that given year. Santos saw this as an opportunity not only to build her resume for grad school but, to show her support for an event that brings people together.
“It’s an
opportunity for not only just Puerto Ricans but all Hispanics of Buffalo New York,
to celebrate their own culture and represent how proud they are to be
Hispanics,” Charles F. Torres board president said.
In recent years, the parade began to recognize other Hispanic countries such as Spain, Panama and El Salvador. This year’s flag raising event to kick off the parade will include more countries than last year.
Over 22 nations
will be represented at this year’s parade. During a coordinating meeting, many
national dances were introduced by the committee and will be incorporated in
the upcoming parade.
Dances
include the Merengue, a ballroom style dance from the Dominican Republic, the
Bomba, a non-contact pair dance from Puerto Rico, the Dance of Chapetones from
El Salvador that has twelve men dressed in tuxedos with a woman dressed in
white that represents a queen joining them and several more.
The
parade may also include African style dancing and drummers as part of the
entertainment.
Before
the parade was created, the west-side youth consisting mostly of Hispanics had
no local events to celebrate their heritage. Torres believes that media
coverage of crime, violence and education shamed Hispanics from embracing their
heritage and where they come from.
“The
parade started as a result of reports indicating that minority youth in Upstate
New York, specifically Hispanic and African Americans, lived amongst the
highest poverty and lowest
educational achievements in the country,” Torres said.
“We felt
that in an effort to reverse self esteem of the Hispanic kids in the
neighborhood they needed something to show their pride.”
The
parade was just the beginning of change. Since the success of the parade, some
members of the parade board branched off and became involved with other
community events such as the celebration of “3 Kings Day” during the holiday
season and the Miss Borinquen Latina Leadership Development Program.
The Miss
Borinquen Latina Leadership Development Program encourages young women to
become leaders in their communities by teaching them the skills necessary to
succeed in the professional setting. The program also features a pageant in
July where the winning queen and princess make a reigning appearance in the
parade.
Two
years ago Santos’s younger sister won the Miss Borinquen pageant and her mother
had a float in the parade.
The
parade board aims to bring unity throughout friends, family and communities not
only to the West Side, but to all of Buffalo, New York.
