By Hispanos Unidos
New York City – The 64th annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade will kick off this summer, on June 13th. This year, the celebration will look a little different. The biggest change comes from the announcement of a 2-hour live television and streaming special, a temporary replacement to the iconic marching procession along New York City’s 5th avenue. The procession is placed on hold due to COVID-19 concerns. The special program will be hosted by WABC-TV anchors Joe Torres and David Novarro, along with Sunny Hostin, co-host of “The View.”
Also announced were this year’s Grand Marshals. This year’s National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) Grand Marshals will be none other than the cast of Warner Bros. Pictures’ In the Heights, a summer movie event based on the Broadway hit musical from Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara AlegríaHudes. The film features a Latino cast with several Puerto Ricans in prominent roles, including Anthony Ramos, Jimmy Smits, Gregory Diaz IV and Lin-Manuel Miranda himself.
Other highlights from this year’s NPRDP include celebrating the 500th anniversary of the founding of San Juan Puerto Rico, national symbols la danza and the beloved Puerto Rican Paso Fino.
Now in its 64th year, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade (NPRDP) is America’s largest celebration of cultural pride in the nation. Programs and events preserve Puerto Rican culture through special tributes to national symbols, historical figures and campaigns to raise awareness on important issues impacting the community. NPRDP’s hallmark program is the Scholarship Program, which has awarded over $1.2MM since 2014 to advance educational achievement in the Puerto Rican community. The Parade’s TV broadcast is a top-rated program and has been nominated for an Emmy® for three consecutive years.
The National Puerto Rican Day Parade Celebration will broadcast on WABC-TV, Channel 7 from 12:00pm-2:00pm on Sunday, June 13. It will also be streamed on the station’s website abc7ny.com as well as on the station’s free news and connected TV apps on Amazon FireTV, Android TV, Apple TV, and Roku.