Trenton Puerto Rican Parade & Festival
Sunday, August 6, 2023 from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm
The Trenton Puerto Rican Parade & Festival will welcome thousands of onlookers, parade participants, community organizations, and vendors on Sunday, August 6, 2023 through the streets of Trenton, NJ. The 2023 Parade & Festival Theme, voted on by our community celebrates El Canto from La Isla Del Encanto, Puerto Rico.
¡Oye Mi Canto! | Listen To My Song!
Desde los sonidos de la naturaleza cómo el coquí a las notas musicales que forman La Clave, a las voces activistas de nuestra gente, este tema celebra los varios sonidos melodiosos de la isla.
From nature sounds like el coquí to musical notes that form La Clave, to the activist voices of nuestra gente, this theme celebrates the various sounds that make our island melodious.
¡Oye Mi Canto! | Listen To My Song!
Kassandra Sánchez was born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey. Although she was not born in Puerto Rico, her family has always surrounded her with the culture. Her father was born and raised in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico. Her mother was born in Trenton, but traveled often to Puerto Rico and briefly lived in Santa Isabel. During her childhood and adolescence, Kassandra frequently traveled to Puerto Rico to visit family and looked forward to attending the yearly Puerto Rican parades in Trenton.
Education has always been an important part of her life. She graduated from Trenton Catholic Academy as Valedictorian and went on to study Elementary Education and Spanish at The College of New Jersey. It was in one of her college classes that she was able to become more involved with Trenton’s Puerto Rican community. She helped interview influential members of the community to create a documentary about the parade. She furthered her research by compiling pictures, newspaper articles and other artifacts to create a website that documents the history of Puerto Ricans in Trenton.
Kassandra is currently a third grade teacher. She continues to be an active member of the Trenton Puerto Rican Community & Friends Organization and volunteers at various events. She is proud to say she is puertorriqueña and is honored to serve as Madrina for the 2023 parade.
Madrina - 2023
Born in Utuado, PR and raised in New Jersey, Gabriel Muñoz first fell in love with the Puerto Rican Cuatro at the age of 14. Gabriel has worked on his craft for nearly 30yrs and has had the privilege of performing with some of the world's greatest cuatristas. Receiving recognition for his performance at the prestigious National Cuatro Festival in Puerto Rico in 2002 and again in 2014 in Chicago where he opened for renown Grammy nominated cuatrista, Edwin Colon Zayas. Gabriel was one of the first cuatristas to perform at the Library of Congress as well as being one of the first cuatristas in history to be featured in concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. The Library of Congress also conducted his oral history interview which was archived as part of american history! Along with recording, composing, and teaching, Gabriel continues to share the music of the Puertorican Cuatro everywhere he goes.
Padrino - 2023
