By: Aaliyah Collins, Follow South Jersey Community Journalist
CAMDEN, N.J. – The Camden community proudly and uniquely waved, wore, and displayed the Dominican flag on Sunday, August 17, to celebrate Dominican Republic’s Restoration Day. It was the first parade that the city has ever held to represent Dominican cultures and traditions.
Performers and participants of the parade, organized by Movimiento Tricolor (MTC), met at Market St. and BLM Blvd. as family, friends, and neighbors spread out all the way down to Wiggins Waterfront Park to cheer them on.
Following the parade, the celebration continued at the waterfront with a festival. People enjoyed food from different vendors and danced to live music.
“Planning this parade was a labor of love,” said Angel Florentino, 27, marketing and public relations specialist for MTC.
Florentino and other organizers began planning and preparing for the parade almost a full year ago. They dedicated a lot of their free time into hosting a monumental, entertaining, and exciting show.
Movimente Tricolor is a non-profit organization that’s main focus is representing and uniting the Dominican community. They strive to make the community feel as strong and powerful as they are. MTC shows them that they can be something more than they might believe.
In English, the name translates to Tricolor Movement. The three main colors used by the organization resemble those on most Latino and Hispanic flags. MTC aims to support and represent other Latino and Hispanic communities as well.
People are already planning on attending next year’s parade.
Check out highlights from the parade below.
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