Hosted by General Assignment Reporter and Host of "Ñ BEAT," Theresa Gutierrez and co-hosted by David Zayas, the parade aired Sunday, June 17, from 1pm-2pm. (The Puerto Rican Day Parade took place on Saturday, June 16, and began at noon).
ABC 7 is the only station in the market to produce and air this important community event. The Parade is now available on-demand at abc7chicago.com.
ABC 7 Chicago's Stacey Baca, Mark Giangreco, Leah Hope, Karen Jordan, Sylvia Perez, Jerry Taft, Hosea Sanders, and Roz Varon joined in the festivities atop the ABC 7 Chicago float.
The 47th annual "Puerto Rican Day Parade" paid tribute to Chicago's rich Puerto Rican culture. It kicked off at Columbus and Balbo Drives with a colorful procession of floats, folk dancers, reggaeton musical groups and salsa dancers. Participants represented their various hometowns in Puerto Rico. The theme of this year's festival was "La Mujer Puertorriqueña" or "The Puerto Rican Woman."
The Parade's 2012 Honorary Grand Marshal was Montserrat "Monsi" Roman, Chief Micro Biologist for NASA. Since 1989, Roman has worked to ensure safe water and air for the crew of the International Space Station, the world's largest space laboratory.
"The Puerto Rican Day Parade" was produced by ABC 7's Edgar Vargas.
