Ramona Santelises has had a busy year planning a parade and festival that Connecticut has never seen before. She never imagined that, as a woman from a small Dominican village, she would be planning something so significant.
Santelises admitted, “I’m telling you, sometimes when I wake up in the morning, I almost want to cry.” “But, my god, this is real,” I say. It’s unbelievable.
Santelises hails from Sajoma in the Dominican Republic’s Cibao province. Santelises referred to the municipality, also called San Jos de las Matas, as the nation’s largest little town.
She currently works in Bridgeport as an organizer with the Dominican American Coalition of Connecticut.
Many people are relocating from New York to Bridgeport, but this is true in all of Connecticut’s cities, according to Santelises. [Saying] Oh, please, we never have a parade here in Connecticut, they frequently visit the center. Would you mind getting started on this? After that, we felt it was time to take action.
According to census data, Dominicans are the third largest Hispanic group in Connecticut, after Mexicans and Puerto Ricans.
Although there have been previous cultural festivals for the Dominican population in Connecticut, including a second annual celebration in Downtown Norwich back in 2022, co-organizer Maria Matos clarified that the parade is what makes their forthcoming event unique.
According to Matos, the New York Dominican Parade is a well-known parade. Boston has a parade as well. The queens and everything are displayed in a procession in New Jersey. They engage in a variety of activities. However, Connecticut has nothing, and we believe the moment has come.
On Sunday, August 17, Bridgeport will host the Dominican Parade and Festival, which will include traditional attire, themed floats, and prominent Dominican artists, government officials, kings and queens, as well as athletes like boxers and basketball players.
Additionally, attendees can anticipate seeing Roba la Gallina, a well-known Dominican female chicken thief, and Diablos Cojuelos, these vibrant masked mischievous characters.
According to Matos, the procession is commemorating the city of La Romana this year in recognition of the tremendous support that many La Romana locals gave during the event’s planning.
However, judges will be present during the competition to monitor which Dominican towns or localities have the greatest representation among the participants.
According to Matos, everyone should prepare to represent their city since the best-represented city will be featured in the following year’s parade, which will honor their city.
According to Matos, the festival will also feature a variety of Latin cuisine and musical acts, such as those by well-known merengue performer Fefita La Grande.
All Hispanics in Connecticut are invited to join Santelises in celebrating Dominican culture.
According to Santelises, if we work together, we can do great things like this and continue to ensure that every event is held in a grand manner that suits us.
Find out more
On Sunday, August 17, the Dominican Parade and Festival will take place. At Seaside Park, 1 Barnum Dyke, Bridgeport, the parade will begin at noon.
The parade will round the park before coming to a stop at Park Avenue, where the festival will continue for the remainder of the day.
For additional details on the parade/festival and other events, you may also join up.
