Hispanic Day Parade NYC, Desfile de la Hispanidad New York, Celebrates the Culture and Contributions of 21 Hispanic Countries

The Hispanic Day Parade NYC ~ Desfile de la Hispanidad New York is New York City’s big Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. It’s a wonderful example of the incredible diversity of what we now call Latin or Hispanic countries.

#DesfileDeLaHispanidad #HispanicDayParade

Some Americans may think we are a bunch of foreigners, but we are Americans with heritage, just like you. We have both given and received a lot from being part of the United States of America.

61st Hispanic Day Parade NYC 2025

NYC’s Hispanic Day Parade is a series of events including: a Mass, gala, and parade.

Honorees

Grand Marshal Ángel L. Figueroa Jr. is a Puerto Rican NYPD police inspector and professor.

Madrina (Godmother) is Alejandra Fuentes, Miss Universe Honduras 2025.

“El Quijote” award honorees are some great Americans:

• Paola M. Cardenas is an Ecuadorian American Spanish teacher and women’s advocate. 🇪🇨
• Vladimir Céspedes is a Bolivian American graphic designer and philanthropist. 🇧🇴
• Alexander Cisneros is a New York Puerto Rican NYPD police officer and former Air Force soldier. 🇵🇷
• Dania L. Contreras is a Honduran American financial consultant and Hispanic community activist. 🇭🇳
• Tasha David is a Honduran American government administrator and community leader. 🇭🇳
• Salvador Duran is a Emmy Award-winning (2023 and 2024) Salvadoran American journalist for Univisíon. 🇸🇻
• Víctor González (Dr. Simi) is a Mexican American businessman, philanthropist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, who introduced generic medicines in Mexico through his family business: Laboratorios Best. 🇲🇽
• Francisco López is a Guatemalan American barber. 🇬🇹
• Jemima Miranda vda. de Canelas is a Honduran American beauty clinic director, and wife of the late Honduran singer-songwriter Moisés Canelas. 🇭🇳
• Kevin Polanco is a Guatemalan American police chaplain. 🇬🇹
• Felipe Salinas is a Mexican American President of the Multi-Ethnic Alliance of New York. 🇲🇽
• Dr. Lester Sandres Ed.D., M.B.A., M.A. is a Honduran American university administrator. 🇭🇳

This is a really outstanding group of Americans. Reading their full biographies, I can’t help but think that though many began their American journey as immigrants, they’ve done better than me, a native-born, raised, and educated American. I know that they achieved this by staying out of trouble, being twice as good, and working twice as hard as most everyone else. They should be an inspiration for all Americans, a physical embodiment of the American Dream.

Another thought is that if all Americans with a Hispanic Heritage were to suddenly leave, we wouldn’t recognize our country any more. We have built the United States of America together.

One last thought. The United States has the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking population, after México. We are a Hispanic country too.

Mass

The 61st Hispanic Day Parade NYC 2025 Mass is in Spanish at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Midtown East, Manhattan; on Sunday, October, 5, 2025, at 4pm.

Gala

The 61st Hispanic Day Parade NYC 2025 Gala is on Friday, October 10, 2025.

Parade

The 61st Hispanic Day Parade NYC 2025 Desfile de la Hispanidad New York marches up Fifth Avenue from 44th to 69th St, from Midtown/Midtown East to Central Park/Upper East Side; on Sunday, October 12, 2025 at 12 noon. 🇦🇷🇧🇴🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇨🇺🇩🇴🇪🇨🇸🇻🇬🇶🇬🇹🇭🇳🇲🇽🇳🇮🇵🇦🇵🇾🇵🇪🇵🇷🇪🇸🇺🇾🇻🇪

60th Hispanic Day Parade NYC 2024

The 60th Hispanic Day Parade NYC 2024 Desfile de la Hispanidad New York marches up Fifth Avenue from 44th to 69th St, from Midtown/Midtown East to Central Park/Upper East Side; on Sunday, October 13, 2024 at 12 noon. 🇦🇷🇧🇴🇨🇱🇨🇴🇨🇷🇨🇺🇩🇴🇪🇨🇸🇻🇬🇹🇭🇳🇲🇽🇳🇮🇵🇦🇵🇾🇵🇪🇵🇷🇪🇸🇺🇾🇻🇪

Hispanic Day Parade NYC

The Hispanic Day Parade NYC Desfile de la Hispanidad fills Fifth Avenue with folkloric Hispanic dances and traditions. Like all parades, it’s a chance to teach our American children about their heritage, celebrate our contributions to American culture, get attention from politicians, and basically have a good time together. That’s really important now that social media is replacing traditional culture. Knowing our heritage also makes us better Americans.

The Parade recognizes 21 Hispanic countries. It features over 3,000 musicians and dancers. It is watched by over a million New Yorkers.

We are not sure if this is new, but the Hispanic Day Parade NYC recognizes Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa as one of the Hispanic countries. Cool!

Hispanic is More Than You Think

Some think Latin or Hispanic is one thing, but it’s actually many, many things. Hispanic culture is far more diverse than most people think.

There are nineteen Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas, twenty if you include the United States, which has the world’s second-largest Spanish-speaking population of over 50 million. Two-thirds of the USA was once New Spain / Mexico, so Spanish is native here too. According to the Pew Research Center, there were 63.7 million Hispanics in the United States in 2022.

Of course, there is Spain and its territories, including the Canary Islands. In Africa, Equatorial Guinea was colonized by several European countries, but lastly by Spain as Spanish Guinea. Spanish is one of its official languages. Interestingly, Spanish is respected in Saudi Arabia because Spain was once Arab al-Andalus.

There are many Hispanic cultures, but each is defined by its own unique blend of geography, history, and peoples. There is also lots of variation within countries by region, city or town, neighborhood, and even by family. For example, in the United States, both Mexican and Puerto Rican cultures are Hispanic, but they are unique. Puerto Ricans from The Bronx, San Juan, and Ponce are all a little different from each other ~ but still Puerto Rican.

Aside from Spain, the colonizer, all Hispanic countries have been colonized. The Americas were originally all Indigenous. Then the Spanish came and brought Africans. So there is African Diasporic culture ~ even in places you might not expect it, like Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru for example. In some countries, Africans eventually blended in, and in others remain distinct communities.

Some people brought from Africa brought Arab traditions with them. The pandereta used in Puerto Rican plena is originally an Arab drum. There has been a lot of Lebanese, Palestinian, and Jewish immigration to the Caribbean and Latin America as well. Quipes, a fried food in the Dominican Republic, is a Caribbean form of Mediterranean falafel. Some Dominicans have Lebanese last names. Shakira, the Colombian pop singer, is also of Lebanese descent.

The Philippines was on the other end of the Pacific Spanish Galleon route, and after emancipation the colonizers brought indentured workers from what is now China and South Asia (India), so there is Asian influence as well. You see that in New York City’s Spanish-Chinese restaurants. Those are run by Chinese Cuban families. There were also more recent migrations from China and Japan. Peruvian ceviche is so delicious partly because Japanese flavors brought by Japanese chefs in Peru.

So Hispanic in the Americas is not one thing. It’s many things with influences from the entire world.

Information

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