Puerto Rican Parades: Celebrating Roots & Identity

0:00It's April 2, 8th. This is Hartford News Today, your AI-powered local news. Connecticut just dropped the full lineup for this year's Puerto Rican Parades and Festivals, and it's a big deal in the state with the highest share of Puerto Ricans per capita. These events bring the diaspora together, connecting bariquas with their nutmegger neighbors through music, dance, and pride. Leaders from across the state gathered at the Capitol this Wednesday to hype their celebrations. Puerto Barri stole the show with a lively bombah performance from a Massachusetts group, drums, and skirts flying in the legislative chamber. They're shining a light on the island's indigenous Tino roots, with a council member rocking traditional feathers, holding the fourth largest Puerto Rican population here. Waterbury gets the honor of closing out the season, usually Hartford's gig after 62 years. That Tino vibe is spreading, with Waterbury's Afro-Caribbean Center hosting a Smithsonian exhibit this summer, straight from Yale's Peabody Museum.

1:00Their founder just became Connecticut's first Tino chief, planning language classes to honor the ancestry. New London's festival jumps on it too, while Fairfield County's parade ties into island wildlife, like the co-key frogs iconic call. These gatherings pack education with the fun, as Hartford rep James Sanchez shared. He corrected a senior from another background, who thought Puerto Ricans should go back home, reminding folks they're born U.S. citizens. It's a teachable moment on identity and history amid ignorance. Parades kick off June 27th in New London, hit Fairfield, July 10th through 12th, merit in August 2nd, New Haven, the 7th and 8th. Hartford's September 13th, and Rapp's September 19th in Waterbury, catch the rhythm and roots before they fade.