Connecticut Boricuas get their "props" at national parade

The National Puerto Rican Parade, held the second Sunday in June down 5th Avenue in NYC, has selected Connecticut for a special honor at this year's parade, scheduled for June 11.

The New Haven Register reports CT was selected for the first time in the parade's 49-year history to honor the state and the 200,000 Puerto Ricans living in CT.

The parade honors one U.S. state and one Puerto Rican community each year. Florida, Puerto Rico is the community in P.R. being recognized with CT, according to Ralph Morales, chairman of the parade's organizing group, who is quoted in the article.

To demonstrate the growth of Latinos in CT, there were 213,116 people of Hispanic descent in the 1990 U.S. Census. By 2000, that number jumped to 320,323. the 2005 estimate had it at 441,720.

The last number I saw had Puerto Ricans accounting for about 65% of the state's Hispanic population. So, by that estimation, there are about 287,000 Boricuas in CT.

If you have not been to the parade ... you have to go ... no matter your heritage or background. While some knuckleheads did some bad things in Central Park after the parade a few years back to give it negative national headlines, it is a beautiful sight to behold. The parade attracts more than 2 million people, so many companies make it a point to have a float or some type of presence during the festivities.