ALLENTOWN, Pa. — As the sounds of Marc Anthony, Hector Lavoe and Elvis Crespo blared through the speakers of Jeeps and cars, the vehicles' drivers and passengers waved the bandera of Puerto Rico up high.
On Sunday, hundreds displayed cultural pride for the Isla del Encanto at the city's annual Puerto Rican festival and parade.
The festivities started with a flag raising at 11 a.m., followed by the procession, which marched down North Fifth and Hamilton streets and traveled east on Hamilton toward River Front Drive to Front and Tilghman streets.
The cultural celebration was organized by the Puertorrican Culture Preservation, or PRCP, an organization that fosters Puerto Rican heritage through events.
Members of PRCP who donned brightly colored dresses and carnival masks were the first to march in the parade, alongside Allentown Fire Chief Efrain Agosto, who served as this year's grand marshal.
'Expression of our history'
Before raising the flag, Agosto lead a moment of silence for Allentown Fire Marshal Jeff Tomczak, who died on July 25 after a battle with occupational cancer.
"My apologies, I'm a little bit emotional about it," Agosto said. "It's one of those things where we don't want to see one of our members to come to this occupational cancer that hits our firefighters on a yearly basis and on a regular basis throughout our nation and throughout the world.
"And we continuously try to find ways to be able to avoid that."
"I can tell you that it's an honor to be a Puerto Rican. It was an interesting life to live compared to what we live here now. So, this is why we continue to push towards accepting us as Puerto Ricans here in the United States."Allentown Fire Chief Efrain Agosto on his Puerto Rican roots
Agosto, who joined Allentown Fire Department in 2003, also spoke about his hometown in the central part of the Caribbean island.
He is among a small sector of Puerto Rican-born firefighters and police officers employed by the city, which swore in its first Latino firefighters in 1990.
"The Puerto Rican Day parade is more than just a celebration. It is a powerful expression of our culture or history and it defines us a community," Agosto said.
"I can tell you that it's an honor to be a Puerto Rican. It was an interesting life to live compared to what we live here now. So this is why we continue to push towards accepting us as Puerto Ricans here in the United States."
Viva Puerto Rico!
Agosto was joined by city and state leaders including Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk and U.S. Rep Susan Wild, who last August traveled to Ponce, San Juan and Patillas in an effort to build cultural and economic ties between the city and Puerto Rico.
"The thing that drives this huge Latino population in Allentown is our Puerto Rican population. Allentown is the eighth-largest Puerto Rican community in the U.S."Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk
"The thing that drives this huge Latino population in Allentown is our Puerto Rican population," Tuerk said before proclaiming Sunday as Puerto Rican Cultural Day in the city.
"Allentown is the eighth-largest Puerto Rican community in the U.S."
Tuerk ended his speech by cheering, "Wepa!" the nation's expression of joy, in solidarity with the crowd.
"Viva Puerto Rico in Allentown," Tuerk cheered.
According to last U.S. Census reports, it's estimated there are half a million residents from Puerto Rico in the commonwealth and close to 80,000 of those reside in the Lehigh Valley.
In Allentown alone, there are 35,000 Puerto Rican residents — some of whom migrated to the states after Hurricane Maria, which ravaged the island in 2017.
An isla of 'joy and pride'
Teresa Rogue, of Denver, attended the festival, which was the last stop on the parade march and held from 1 to 7 p.m. at the parking lot of Executive Education Academy Charter School, 555 Union Blvd.
The trio decided to rent vendor space at the festival, where they sold T-shirts, jewelry, stickers and other items featuring the Puerto Rican flag, coquí (an unofficial mascot of the island).
"For us, this is more than just a party. Every day we feel proud to Puerto Rican, but today we really get to celebrate what that means. It is an island of joy, pride and so many things that people don't see unless they've been or visit there."Magaly Gutierrez of Easton
"I am visiting my daughter in New Jersey and was curious to see how many Puerto Ricans and Latinos live here," Rogue said.
"For us, even as sellers, it's nice to meet people from different places, and try out new foods, especially from Ponce, where my dad is from."
In her vendor tent was a take-out plate of pernil and freshly fried empanadas, among the many Puerto Rican foods served at the festival, along with drinks in coconuts filled with or without rum.
As the crowd began to gather at the stage, hundreds of people could be seen sporting Puerto Rican flag-inspired attire and accessories, including dresses, tutus, sunglasses, jerseys, umbrellas, hats, purses and sneakers.
"For us, this is more than just a party," Magaly Gutierrez of Easton said. "Every day we feel proud to be Puerto Rican, but today we really get to celebrate what that means.
"It is an island of joy, pride and so many things that people don't see unless they've been or visit there."
The festival started with a lively performance by the Kingdom Warrior drum band and Dieruff High School's newly formed Latin ensemble.
It concluded with performances by Los Sabrosos del Merengue, Herencia de Plena andNino Segarra.
