Celebrating Puerto Rican culture at Losiaida Street Festival

LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) -- The Historic Loisaida Street Festival was in full effect Sunday Afternoon.

Celebrating the vibrant spirit and diverse heritage of the Lower East Side, the festival is presented by the Loisaida Center, a Puerto Rican-led and founded community-based organization in Lower Manhattan, in partnership with the Acacia Network, the largest Hispanic-led nonprofit in New York State.  

Walking down Avenue C in the Lower East Side Sunday afternoon Was the equivalent of bringing a piece of Puerto Rico into this section of Manhattan.

“I was born and raised here, but my parents come from Puerto Rico, so I have the tradition of bomba, salsa, plena; we do all that in my house,” said Mary Gonzalez as she walked down Avenue C.

The 37th Loisaida Festival was “a cultural mosaic” where music, food, artisanal crafts and much more brought together hundreds of people.

“The term Loisaida actually refers to Lower East Side as the Spanish-speaking community would pronounce it so quickly. Starting with the Puerto Rican immigrants who established themselves here and still live here up to this day,” stated SVP of External Affairs Acacia network, Loisaida Center, Gabriela Gonzalez.

Jose Padillo couldn’t stop Listening to the drums of Batalá, New York. He has been attending the festival for three decades.

“There is food, there is everything out here, and it represents all of us. That’s why I keep coming here every year,” said Padillo.

There was so much to taste.

“Alcapurria, bacalao, arroz con gandules, pernil and our famous Boricua bowl,“ yelled Diana Torres from Mia’s Cocina.

A business started by Maria Bido during the coronavirus pandemic. She is now teaching others about the flavors of la Isla del Encanto.

“These are my grandmother’s recipes; I learned from herm. She was born in Puerto Rico in 1921.  She made everything fresh every day,” stated Bido.

With traditional Bomba and Plena playing, it was impossible to stop moving.

“Piragua,’ shouted Celia, serving traditional Puerto Rican piragua to freshen up.

Puerto Rico is art in all forms, including handmade wood pieces by Hector Cotza.  

“I go to every fair and show my pride and educate people about our pride because we need to keep our culture going,” said the artist.