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Viva Puerto Rico! Puerto Rican pride lights up 5th Avenue

More photos at our Puerto Rican Day Parade Photo Gallery Index.

June 9, 2002 -- 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 annual Puerto Rican Day Parade along Fifth Avenue (between 44th & 86th street) in Manhattan.

It was perfect weather for people of all races to enjoy New York City's biggest and most festive parade.

Over 100,000 marched down the streets of Fifth Avenue and several million watched as they danced to typical sounds of Salsa, Merenge, Bomba, Plena and Latin Hip Hop.

Hundreds waved flags, blew whistles and salsa-danced through the daylong event, this year dedicated to the city's uniformed services in a nod to their heroics during the World Trade Center disaster.

Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.), the parade's New York State marshal, said: "It was a delicate balance to make sure that we understood the need to celebrate, and also the fact that we're still in mourning over Sept. 11."

Many politicians appeared at the 45th annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade including Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Charles Schumer, Congressman Charles Rangel, Mayor Michael Bloomberg - who donned a guayabera shirt - and his predecessor, Rudolph Giuliani, who walked the route alongside Gov. George Pataki.

Some of the most colorful and festive corporate floats seen at this year's PR parade were Frito Lay, Latino Mix 105.9, Cafe Bustelo, Telemundo 47, Heineken and Corona Beer.

Written by Manuel Nuñez, Hispanicsurf.com.