The Dominican Day Parade in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

is a parade organized by Americans of Dominican origin. The event started in 1982 as a local celebration with concerts and cultural events in the Washington Heights section of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. Organized by

Dominican American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

community leaders, the parade is held annually each August on

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. Similar parades are also held every year in

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, Paterson, New Jersey,

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, Lawrence, Massachusetts,

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and along the Grand Concourse in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. No parade was held in 2020.

Parade and Related Events

The parade is held on

. Marching proceeds from south to north, beginning on 38th Street. A gala is held on the second Friday in August before Sunday's parade. Locations of the gala will vary. visit dominicanparade.org for information. A scholarship awards banquet takes place in the fall.

Mission

Dominican people at Dominican parade, New York City

The newly formed Dominican Day Parade, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c) 3, non-partisan organization in formation that organizes the annual parade and festivities. The organization strives to provide an understanding of the heritage and contributions of the Dominican community in America and throughout the world. The mission of the Dominican Day Parade, Inc. is to celebrate the richness of the Dominican culture, folklore and popular traditions.

Themes

The parade’s theme for 2015 is ''Education and Economic Empowerment''. The organization recognizes the lack of resources for youth that seek a formal education. For that reason, Dominican Day Parade, Inc. has set a goal of creating a $250,000 Scholarship Fund. The fund, the first of its kind in the recent history of the parade, will help pay for education that will, in turn, economically empower young Dominicans throughout the United States.

Board of directors

Over the past several years, the leadership of the Dominican Day Parade had been under scrutiny because the non-profit organization at its helm was not being run according to New York State law. Under the direction of Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Mayor Bill de Blasio, along with other elected officials and community leaders, in 2015, an entirely new entity and Board of Directors was created for what is now called the Dominican Day Parade, Inc. The new members of the board include many distinguished people from the

Dominican-American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

community, representing a variety of industries and backgrounds.

Date of Parade

The Dominican Day Parade is celebrated on the second Sunday of August to honor the start of the war for the “Second Independence” ( La Guerra de la Restauracion). Under the leadership of General Gregorio Luperon, the war was ultimately won from Spain. In 1844, the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

secured its independence from Haiti and became a sovereign state until 1861. Under the leadership of General

Pedro Santana Pedro Santana y Familias, 1st Marquess of Las Carreras (June 29, 1801June 14, 1864) was a Dominican military commander and royalist politician who served as the president of the junta that had established the First Dominican Republic, a pr ...

, segments of the Dominican population sought to annex the Republic back to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and did so during March 18, 1861. On August 16, 1863, the start of the war for the Restoration of the Dominican Republic under the command of General Luperon. The Dominican Republic originally declared its independence from Spain on December 1, 1821. Ultimately, the

was re-established, free from

, on March 3, 1865.

Dominicans in New York Dominican Day Parade

References

{{Reflist Caribbean-American culture in New York City Dominican-American culture in New York (state) Festivals in New York City Parades in New York City Cultural festivals in the United States 1982 establishments in New York City Latin American festivals Hispanic and Latino American culture in New York City Dominican Republic culture