Bay Shore parade marks 60 years of Puerto Rican pride on Long Island

Fifth Avenue filled with drums, flags and families Sunday as Bay Shore marked the 60th annual Puerto Rican Hispanic Parade of Long Island, a milestone that drew more than 4,000 people and 86 marching groups from North Bay Shore to Brentwood. For many on the route, the celebration carried a sharper edge this year, with paradegoers saying the gathering felt like a needed public response to anxiety over immigration enforcement and the broader political climate. In Suffolk County, where 332,959 residents identified as Hispanic or Latino in the 2020 Census, the parade stood as both a cultural celebration and a visible statement of belonging.

On Fifth Avenue, Joanne Fuentes-Cruz watched from the Bay Shore house at 1571 Fifth Avenue where she has lived for 64.5 happy years. At 66, she has seen the parade become part of the neighborhood calendar, and her front yard offered a view of how deeply the tradition is rooted in the block itself. Families lined the route, turning porches and sidewalks into viewing stands as the procession moved toward Brentwood.

The parade’s history reaches back to 1966, and its 60th year landed at a time when the community was once again using a public street to make a point about identity and endurance. Teatro Yerbabruja, founded in 2004 by Margarita Espada, has long been tied to that effort in Bay Shore, helping anchor a space for Latinx arts and community life on Long Island. This year’s anniversary celebration also reflected a deliberate effort to lift up younger residents and honor community leaders, linking memory to the next generation.

The numbers behind the parade help explain why it matters so much across the South Shore. Suffolk County had 1,525,920 residents in the 2020 Census, and 16.8% were foreign-born in the 2020-2024 estimate period. Town of Islip planning materials identify Bay Shore, Brentwood and Central Islip as hamlets with significant Hispanic population growth, placing the parade squarely in a corridor where demographic change has reshaped schools, neighborhoods and civic life.

Beyond the pageantry, the event sent people past local storefronts and along a business corridor that depends on neighborhood traffic and shared identity. By the time the last groups reached Brentwood, the message on Fifth Avenue was unmistakable: this was a celebration, but also a public claim to dignity, continuity and place in Suffolk County.