Another summer weekend, another Puerto Rican pride event here in Connecticut.
This Saturday is Puerto Ricans United’s ninth annual festival in New Haven. PRU Board President Joe Rodriguez says its focus is a little different: There’s no parade, and the vendors are not just selling flags and T-shirts.
“I think what sets us apart in New Haven is our focus on community service and resources,” Rodriguez said. “So, in addition to the food trucks and the merchandise vendors and arts and crafts, we're going to have a lot of community nonprofits on site — from health and wellness to a job fair.”
Yes, a job fair.
“There's going to be companies on the green who are looking for employees,” Rodriguez said. “There's going to be health screenings. There's going to be the New Haven Yale hiring initiative.”
The festival wasn’t always this way. When PRU’s board first got together in 2015, they envisioned a pretty typical heritage fest and — miraculously — pulled one off the following year. But the pandemic forced PRU to rethink some things: hosting a virtual concert version during the peak of COVID-19 outbreaks that first summer of social distancing. And afterward, the board began to ask itself what the future of the festival looked like.
“Shoutout to Tiana Ocasio, one of my board members, who a few years ago said, ‘Well, we have a lot of businesses that come to the green to promote their brand. What if we asked if they're hiring and see if we can have sort of a job fair on site? We have a lot of health centers in New Haven. Why can't we do health screenings on site?’”
At the end of the day, there’s something for everyone, Rodriguez said, which is a feat at an event drawing up to 10,000 people.
“There's a moment every single year where I go on stage towards the end of the festival, and I just look out at the crowd. And honestly, for me, that's the most gratifying experience when I'm on stage and I see thousands of people in front of that stage, as young as a newborn to as old as 80, smiling and dancing,” Rodriguez said. “It's just such a good sight to see a sea of happy people coming together despite the politics of our nation.”
PRU is not a politically oriented group, but its members haven’t shied away from taking a stance on issues related to Puerto Ricans. Most recently, the group decided not to accept support from a recurring festival sponsor: Avelo. The budget airline, which offers direct flights from New Haven to San Juan, has come under fire from some Connecticut activist groups for its decision to run deportation flights for the Trump administration.
“We expected, given the relationship, that we would engage in a third year partnership,” Rodriguez said, “but before we can even get into those conversations … we voted pretty much unanimously to say, ‘Listen, we're community first. And when we say community, it's not just a Puerto Rican community; it's the New Haven community.’”
The move happened in solidarity with New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker’s office, who recently issued a mandate barring employees from spending public funds for Avelo Airlines flights, marketing, branding, advertising or promotion.
Elicker showed his solidarity on Thursday at a raising ceremony for the Puerto Rican flag over the New Haven Green.
The festival officially begins Saturday at 1 p.m., with food trucks, vendors and live music from salsa artists like Grammy Award nominee, Charlie Aponte of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico.
