Crowds took to the streets of Manhattan Sunday for the 66th Annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade.

This year’s theme celebrated music, culture and joy.

The parade stepped off at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue.

What You Need To Know

  • The parade stepped off at 44th Street and Fifth Avenue and made its way uptown to 74th Street

  • Some New Yorkers say they attend every year

  • Tourists attended the parade for the first time like Susan Yong from Singapore

  • Some parade goers said the parade reminds them of family traditions

Chrissi Ceefee from Red Hook says she has been coming since she was a kid.

“I mean, at the end of the day, it’s in our blood, it is in our DNA and we [are] just proud people. That is what it is,” Ceefee said.

A who’s who of elected leaders marched.

Families came from outside the city as well for the sense of community.

“I’m happy to celebrate my culture here in New York City and celebrate the culture of Puerto Rico. Technically, all of the people around here are family,” Angel Galan of Poughkeepsie said.

“I like it, hahaha. I like it so much, Puerto Rican power!” Gladys Rivera of Massachusetts said.

The parade made its way up to 74th Street.

Walking along the parade route, people told NY1 that this parade reminds them of family traditions.

One of those people is Monica Landrau.  

She remembers going to Puerto Rico and visiting her grandmother as a child.

“The first thing my grandmother would do is make café con leche,” Landrau said.

She grew up in Harlem and relocated to Georgia.

Landrau came to the parade for the first time in decades. She says she danced in the parade years ago.

“It’s an emotional time, an emotional moment. I went to the festival yesterday and seeing everyone that I grew up with the culture, the food, the music,” Landrau said.

She says this celebration goes beyond just Puerto Rican heritage.

“It’s not just Puerto Rican culture, it’s all the cultures that migrated to New York City at Ellis Island. It is celebrating all that created this city of culture, different aspects, different people and different types of love and respecting each and every one of them,” Landrau said.

Susan Yong, who is visiting the city from Singapore, is at the parade for the first time.

“We really love the color. Everyone is so happy,” Yong said.

Keeping culture alive and welcoming people from all over the world to celebrate.