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Tens of thousands of Long Islanders, bursting with salvadoreño pride, filled a street in Hempstead to celebrate the Salvadoran American Day Festival yesterday.
I brought my camera and dove into the sea of blue and white, asking festival attendees what they liked most about the event:
Leonel Sanchez : “That all the Central Americans and Salvadorans participate, because it’s a day of celebration here.”
Sandra Soriano: “I like that people set aside a certain time and place for all the Salvadorans that are here in the United States, it’s nice.”
Suleima Navarrete: “What I like the most is that we see people from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and the Central American countries. We miss our country, but we are happy and content, and thankful to God for giving us this life.”
Jose Acosta : “What I like the most about the festival is seeing a lot of people from our country taking pride in being Salvadoran and also being supported by the Village of Hempstead. The mayor has declared that this is a very special day for us and I am very proud that Long Island Wins is supporting our community, too.”
Elvelcia Valle (pictured left): “It’s a special day.”
Here are some photos I took of the parade:
