Sunset Park celebrates Mexican Independence with parade on Fifth Ave and festival at BAT Ferry Plaza

The Sunset Park community and supporters from across New York came together the weekend before Sept. 16 to celebrate Mexican Independence Day with a mix of pride, joy and defiance.

The parade stepped off at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue by Our Lady of Perpetual Help on Sunday afternoon, led by Grand Marshal Delfino Jácome, director of Mi Casa es Puebla NY, and padrino Roberto Martínez González, founder of Radio La Adictiva de Nueva York. Council Member Alexa Avilés and Assembly Member Marcela Mitaynes were among the officials who walked in the parade.

Highlights on Fifth featured colorful Chinelos, Viejitos dancers, skeletons on bikes, and car and motorcycle clubs including Unique La Familia and the Aztec Rebels. Community troupes and quinceañeras marched, and a float paid tribute to the Mexican sailors who died when the tall ship Cuauhtémoc struck the Brooklyn Bridge in May.

After the parade, many celebrants, including Council Member Avilés, streamed to the Brooklyn Army Terminal’s Ferry Plaza for an all-day waterfront festival.

“It’s been such a hard eight months for the community, and it’s really nice to see people having joy in their lives,” Avilés said.

At the festival, vendor menus offered fresas con crema, cemitas, pinchos, elote and salchipapas. The crowd danced to music by bands like Amy Velázquez’s La Sonora Dinamita and Jimmy Tapia’s Grupo Combinación de México. A spirited Grito contest drew cheers, and Yolanda, originally from Puebla, took first place.

“It feels good to know that there are people who care about our country,” said festival attendee Melissa, while enjoying the food and music. “Having the dances and the music, having all the people come together — I feel like that’s the best part.”

Indeed, many who came out for the festivities were there not because of their own Mexican heritage, but because they wanted to support friends and partners.

Rosario, a 14-year-old Salvadoran student at Millennium Brooklyn High School, came with friends from Sunset Park. “I’m here with my boyfriend and my friend — they’re both Mexican,” she said. “It’s important to show support because they show as much support to me.”

For Ronald, a Peruvian whose wife is Mexican, it was also about having a good time. “I feel good, very happy,” he said. “I like the atmosphere, it’s good, and a lot of fun. It’s a great moment.”

One teen, Dulce, summed up why the day matters for many families: “Because there’s a lot of problems going on with ICE immigration,” she said, adding that seeing so much public support “means my country is proud of who they are instead of being ashamed of it.”