San Juan Bautista Parade Names Camden Council President Angel Fuentes as Grand Marshal
Parade attendees with one of the floats at the San Juan Bautista Festival in Camden on Sunday, June 30, 2024. Photo by Frank Soto
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
CAMDEN – City council president Angel Fuentes, the founder of the Hispanic Leadership Association of New Jersey, will serve as the grand marshal for the 68th annual San Juan Bautista Parade on June 29.
The event is one of the largest in South Jersey celebrating the Puerto Rican cultural. The event has been celebrated in Camden since 1957.
“Exciting news! I am thrilled to announce that The Parada San Juan Bautista of Camden, NJ has chosen me as this year’s grand marshal for the Puerto Rican Parade! Que Viva El Desfile Puertorriqueño,” Fuentes said in a Facebook post over the weekend.
“Let me thank the board of directors for nominating me this year’s grand marshal. It’s truly a celebration of hope since 1957.”
The mission of the Parada San Juan Bautista, Inc. is to create solidarity and harmony within the entire Camden community.
“This is experienced at the grassroots level within the religious and educational community, the business and government sector at the city, county and state levels,” organizers said on their website.
“Its success in bringing together people from different cultures and background has integrated our activities and events into the social fiber of the city and surrounding communities.”
San Juan Bautista events begin on May 6 with a Business and Professional Reception at the Triad 1828 Center, 2 Cooper Street from 6-9 p.m. That will be followed by the “Little Miss Reina” Coronation Pageant on May 10 at the Mi Casita Daycare Center, 551 Spruce Street from 4-7 p.m. Both are by invitation only.
The annual Puerto Rican Flag Raising Ceremony will take place June 2 at Wiggins Riverfront Park, near Riverside Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, from 11:45 a.m.-2 p.m.
The Distinguished Citizens Reception will be held at Cathedral Hall, 642 Market Street, from noon-3 p.m. on June 12. The parade’s annual gala will take place on June 21 and then the Parade on June 29.
Kate Rivera, one of the organizers, said they will release the names of community awardees soon with scholarship winners being presented at the June 21 gala. For more information, go to http://SJBP.org, email kate@sjbp.org or call 856-952-0968.
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