2005 Puerto Rican Day parade lights up Fifth Avenue

Written by Nelson Ortiz, www.hispanicsurf.com

June 13, 2005 -- The spirit of Puerto Rico was alive and well on the streets of New York yesterday as hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the 48th annual Puerto Rican Day Parade along Fifth Avenue (between 44th & 86th street) in Manhattan.

Fifth Avenue jumped to life with bursts of red, white and blue, the colors of the Puerto Rican flag, along with plenty of music, food and of course, pride.

"What you're seeing here are people who are proud of where they came from and proud of where they are, and that's what New York has always been," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who waved his own Puerto Rican flag as he marched with supporters and parade organizers.

The annual event has drawn hundreds of thousands in recent years - many traveling from the Caribbean island and elsewhere.

"My brother in law came from Puerto Rico and he wanted to come to the parade!" said a spectator in the crowd while cheering at a float passing by.

Beauty queens waved from floats blaring the traditional sounds of salsa, bomba and plena while kids showed their talents twirling their batons and marching to their drummer's beat.

This year's noticeable difference was the dominance of Reggaeton music being played.

This new wave of music has sparked a wave of interest and it was clear when the very popular Daddy Yankee and Ivy Queen appeared on their float.

The crowd went wild when Daddy Yankee went by singing his mega-hit, Gasolina (shown above) on the NY Post float.

Although Sunday's celebration was festive, a police officer suffered minor cuts to his hand during a dispute near the parade route, authorities said.

There were other incidents of violence, including a stabbing and the arrest of more than 150 people who police said were gang members, according to published reports. After refusing orders to disperse, they were charged with unlawful assembly and disorderly conduct, The New York Times reported in Monday's editions.