Springfield's Puerto Rican Parade returning with festive celebration

Aug. 17, 2022 | Matt Conway
mconway@thereminder.com

This year’s Springfield Puerto Rican Parade is returning to an in-person celebration.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

SPRINGFIELD – After hosting two virtual parades due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Springfield Puerto Rican Parade will be celebrating its 32nd anniversary in person on Sept. 18 at 11 a.m.

This year’s parade will depart from the intersection of Main Street and Wason Avenue and will march through the city’s North End into downtown before concluding at Boland Way. Puerto Rican Parade Committee Spokesperson Jade Rivera-McFarlin explained that this year’s celebration represents extra significance as the committee celebrates the 30th in-person gathering for the parade.

The Puerto Rican Parade possesses a deep cultural history in Springfield. Rivera-McFarlin shared that the parade’s genesis came after a severe hurricane forced several Puerto Rican families to immigrate into the United States.

For the immigrants who arrived in Springfield, the creation of the parade became a symbol for celebrating Puerto Rican culture in their new home.

“It was a way for them to celebrate their culture and bring the culture to their new neighborhood,” said Rivera-McFarlin in an interview with Reminder Publishing.

The first parade featured a march from the North End to City Hall during the summertime. It soon after moved to September to coincide with the return of school organizations and the celebration of Puerto Rican Heritage Month.

Since its inaugural celebration, the Puerto Rican Parade has continued to evolve into an even grander celebration. Rivera-McFarlin shared that crowds continue to grow larger each year as the organization involves more community and city organizations. She credits some of this growth to the infusion of young Puerto Rican community members who assumed leadership of the parade nearly a decade ago.

“About eight years ago, the parade was given to a new group of younger community members. It was handed to us, and we did a lot of work to make it bigger and grow the parade,” said Rivera-McFarlin.

Rivera-McFarlin said the last two years posed unique challenges with the sudden advent of the coronavirus pandemic. While she believed two virtual celebrations could not compare to the in-person celebrations, she shared that both events went smoothly for the committee.

“We decided to still bring the culture to the city and the community through virtual events. … We were able to put together a bunch of different videos from past participants and performers. It was actually really cool how it came together, but nothing beats being in-person,” said Rivera-McFarlin.

For this year’s celebration, Rivera-McFarlin shared that the committee has spent the last year in planning stages. So far, the committee has selected state Sen. Adam Gomez to serve as the parade’s grand marshal and is in the process of finalizing agreements with local organizations. The parade is also seeking volunteers, with residents interested in being a part of the citywide celebration invited to reach out to springfieldprparade@gmail.com.

For Rivera-McFarlin, taking part in the parade annually represents a full-circle moment after walking in the first parade as a child. She expressed excitement with the event continuing to serve as a positive celebration for Puerto Rican culture.

“Whether people are Puerto Rican or not, the whole point is to share that culture with everyone and have everyone enjoy it just as much as we enjoy being Puerto Rican … we’re hoping everyone comes out,” said Rivera-McFarlin.

Readers can learn more about the Springfield Puerto Rican Parade at https://springfieldprparade.wixsite.com/mass.

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