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For a mile-long stretch of Bushwick, Brooklyn, a sea of red, white and blue floods the streets. One corner boasts a DIY speaker setup blasting old-school reggaeton courtesy of Tego Calderón and Plan B, another plays throwback salsa from Héctor Lavoe and El Gran Combo. Booming horns pulse through the air; vendors pour “piragua” snow cones and serve watermelon and coconut ice cream to those looking to cool down; and elders kick back in personal lawn chairs taking in the festivities, which include surprise appearances from Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New York Knicks star (and newly crowned NBA champion) Jose Alvarado.
Despite the heat and humidity, a palpable sense of pride ripples through the crowd. This is, after all, what fuels New York City’s Puerto Rican Day Parade weekend, year after year.
The nation partied a lot this weekend – revealing strikingly different stories of America during its 250th summer. Some 200 miles away, there was another kind of red, white and blue blur on the White House lawn as UFC fighters traded blows in an ostentatious display of masculinity as part of official semiquincentennial events and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Meanwhile, the US announced itself on the international sporting stage, co-hosting the World Cup and kicking off with a blistering 4-1 win over Paraguay on Friday. Back in New York City, the euphoria of the Knicks’ Saturday night NBA triumph bled into Sunday’s Puerto Rican parade, transforming the multicultural gathering into a kind of victory rally.
