2022 Puerto Rican Day Parade To March Up 5th Avenue On Sunday

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Red, white and blue flags will be flying high along Fifth Avenue on Sunday as crowds gather for the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, for the first time in three years.

The 65th annual parade, forced to go mostly virtual in the last two years, will be back starting 11 a.m. Sunday, when marchers will gather on Fifth Avenue and East 43rd Street. They will proceed up from there up to East 79th Street.

Aiming to unite the roughly 8 million Puerto Ricans who live on the island and across the mainland U.S., the parade celebrates "the best of Puerto Rican culture, achievement and legacy with music, dance and colorful displays of cultural pride," organizers say.

This year's parade will be dedicated to the municipality of Cidra, Puerto Rico, home to roughly 40,000 people near the mountainous center of the island.

Anyone who can't attend in person can watch live on WABC-TV, Channel 7, starting at noon Eastern; on the ABC affiliate Telecinco in Puerto Rico; or on the abc7ny.com website.

"This is a milestone year for the Parade, and our return to Fifth Avenue is yet another sign that NYC and the Puerto Rican community are strong, resilient and as vibrant as ever," said parade board chair Louis Maldonado in a statement.

"The NPRDP Board of Directors invites all Boricuas in the New York City area, Puerto Rico and across the patria extendida (diaspora) to join us on June 12 to exclaim ¡WEPA! and sing ‘Qué bonita bandera,’ just as we have for the last 64 years."

Besides the parade route itself, the following street closures will be in effect Sunday:

• 44th to 48th streets bounded by Sixth and Madison avenues
• East 79th to 83rd streets between Fifth and Park avenues
• East 84th and 85th streets between Fifth and Madison avenues
• Madison Avenue, between East 43rd and 86th streets
• Sixth Avenue between West 43rd and 49th streets
• 43rd Street between Sixth and Madison avenues
• West 51st Street between Rockefeller Plaza and Fifth Avenue
• West 58th Street between Grand Army Plaza and Fifth Avenue
• East 60th, 63rd, 64th, 66th, 70ty and 74th streets between Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue
• East 69th and 72nd streets between Fifth and Park avenues

Learn more about the 2022 National Puerto Rican Day Parade on its website.