Thousands of New Yorkers dressed in the colors of the Puerto Rican flag lined 5th Avenue for the city's annual Puerto Rican Day parade.
“I believe it’s impossible to think of everything we love about New York City without thinking about the contributions of the Puerto Rican people,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said at the parade. “This is a community who over the last century has been one of the foundations of this city."
The event is one of the largest parades in the city, celebrating the music, dance and heritage of the city's Puerto Rican residents.
"It’s a parade I deeply loved because it represents all that’s good about this city,” de Blasio said.
Puerto Rico's governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, led the sea of red, white and blue, followed by New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, who is a native of Puerto Rico. Actress and singer Rita Moreno, an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony-award winner, was the grand marshal of the parade.
