New Haven Independent

The 44th annual Puerto Rican State Parade, which rotates each year among Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury, returns to the Elm City on June 3. It caps a weekend of events showcasing contributions Puerto Ricans have made to the USA.

People will flood into New Haven from all over the state, lining up at 10:30 a.m. along Chapel Street waiting with flags, explained parade organizers. The parade starts at 1 p.m. at Derby Avenue and Chapel Street, and continues to the New Haven Green. Miss Pre-Teen Puerto Rico of Hartford, Adriana Marrero (pictured above at left), and Miss Puerto Rico of New Haven, Elimayrie Llorens (pictured above at right), helped deliver the news at a press conference at City Hall Tuesday.

Kicking off parade weekend on Friday is a banquet complete with traditional Puerto Rican dancing and as a special honoree, Police Chief Cisco Ortiz. Call 848-0057 for tickets to the event, June 1 at 6:30 p.m. at La Mirage in North Haven. A festival on the New Haven Green will follow on June 2.

A few years ago, the wildly popular parade prompted police to literally block entry to Fair Haven, prohibiting people who lived there from getting home. “It was an intense response,” recalled Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. Tuesday. “The thing back then was, after the parade,” to get in cars and ride around in caravans through the city.

Locking down Fair Haven “wasn’t the best” policing strategy, DeStefano said. How will he prevent a similar situation this year? “We’ll work a lot better with the community to chill down on the caravans,” the mayor said.