Celebrating Culture: My Experience at the Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Lessons Learned
This week Host, Victoria Jenn gives you a behind the scenes look of what went down at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in NYC.
She shares how she was able to attend as a VIP, lessons learned, and who she met, like Fat Joe, Flo Rider, and many more.
In this episode:
01:32 - Celebrating The Vibrancy and Culture of the Latino Community
12:45 - The Puerto Rican Day Parade
16:18 - Lessons Learned From The Puerto Rican Day Parade
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Full Transcript:
Welcome back to another episode on Banking on Cultura. I am your host Victoria Jenn Rodriguez and I'm so excited to have you here for another episode, a deep dive, a solo vibe and I am really looking forward to breaking down what went down this weekend. This is all bonchin. This is going to be a bon episode, but of course with everything that we do here, we always have learnings for you guys. So, this past weekend was Puerto Rican Day weekend in New York City. And if you don't know, everyone in New York City is Puerto Rican that weekend. And it is just one of the times of year where Puerto Ricans get together and celebrate our coutura, our culture. And what I really love about this weekend is although it is centered around boricquas, it is mainly focused on celebrating the vibrancy and complexity of Latino culture. So all Latinos are invited to come out to the Puerto Rican Day parade and celebrate our richness in culture. And so this weekend was spent basically celebrating the cultura. You guys see the flags behind me if you're tuning in on video. And these are actually in every one of my meetings. So, whenever I have a Zoomi, whenever I have a business meeting, the flag is behind me. Listen, let me tell you something. Puerto Ricans are very, very prideful around their flag. And it is because for several years when we were colonized, we were not allowed to actually wrap our flag here in the US. It was against the law. And so we couldn't rep our cultura for a really long time. And once we were able to have that law abolished, it was game over. Honey, you can't you it is very rare for you to go to a Puerto Rican's home and not find a flag in their home or something signature to our corta where you know, okay, a Puerto Rican lives here. It it normally is the case. I would say 90% of the time you will find a flag and it is because of that you were very prideful and I love that these flags come up in my meetings because it's usually like an icebreaker or somebody just knows where I'm from or they learn something about me right as soon as they see me on camera with these flags behind me. They know if they're smart and they're paying attention like oh she really cares about her coutura about her culture and where she from and she reps hard and I want people to know that about me. I put it out there. I want you to know that yes, I am Boriqua. I love Latinos. I will always celebrate Latinos and I will always make sure that we have the tools and resources we need to move ourselves ahead, which is the whole premise behind Beni Anura. So, let's get into the vine of Borqua weekend. So, what led up to this weekend? Actually, it kicked off for the whole week. So, the whole week that first, let's see, what was this? The second weekend in in June. Yes, the second weekend in June is always dedicated to Boriqua weekend. And then that week leading up to the second weekend in June are full of celebrations in New York City. So my Boriqua week kicked off with the flag rising down on Wall Street in New York City, which was so crazy. But first, let me tell you, okay, so Mayor Eric Adams hosted this event and I was invited to attend by Commissioner Lorraine Cortez Vasquez. She has been on the podcast. If you haven't listened to our episode together, make sure to go back and listen to it. She is a Latina. She was the first Latina to be the New York State Secretary. So, she her name rings bells across New York City politics and government. and she's always been an advocate for Latinas, for Latinos in the city, and our episode was amazing. So, make sure to go and check that out if you haven't listened to it yet. So, she invited me because she wanted me to pick up VIP tickets to go to the parade. Now, how did I get these VIP tickets? So, the VIP tickets came about because after Lorraine was on the show, I knew she was on the board of the Puerto Rican Day parade because I actually ran into Lorraine at the parade last year. I snuck into VIP because I saw I saw her and I was like, "Hey, you may not remember me, but my mentor, you and her were really close friends. my mentor, Shirley Rodriguez Reminesi, and I just really um wanted to introduce myself and catch up with you because I admire you for years since I was like in my early 20s when I first came across you." And she was so humble and and so, I would say, welcoming. And she's like, "Here's my info. Let's set up some time to meet." We set up some time to meet. I told her about the podcast. I told her I would love for her to come on the podcast. She graciously accepted our invitation to come on to the podcast. She loved the interview and we've built a relationship since then. And I told her like, "Hey, if you guys need extra media coverage for the parade, like let me know. I'm more than happy to do it. I'm more than happy to talk about it on the podcast. Like, I want to support." And she was so thankful for that. And she put me in contact with the chairman of the parade. And long story short, I got the VIP tickets to go to the parade. So, she asked me to pick them up at this flag rising event. What was really cool about this event was that my girl Chachi, shout out to Chachi Griel de Valet, who is a singer, a performer, she has the most angelic voice, she actually was asked to sing the Puerto Rican national anthem at the flag rising. So, when I knew she was going, I said, "Hey, if you need any help, like, I can film content for you because I'm going to this event, right?" And she ironically was like, "Oh my god, thank you so much because no one on my team is available to go. I would love for you to do that." So, I want you guys to listen to what I'm sharing with you, okay? because this is a key component of relationship building and just being a dope human being and wanting to uh selfishly just help, right? So, I offered Lorraine the opportunity for me to cover extra media during the parade and as a result of me offering her that service, she offered me the VIP tickets. Right now, I have this opportunity to support Jachi, who's also been on the podcast. Make sure you tune in to her episode. She came on with her celebrity hubby, Kelvin, and it was an amazing conversation. So, make sure you check that episode out and um I got an opportunity to support her, right? and also see her perform and take just such pride and odu in celebrating our culture together while she's sang the Puerto Rican anthem and I got to get this amazing content for her and help her out. Right. So, we show up to the flag rising. It's a lot going on, but once everything all settled and we were locked in, it was a beautiful experience. There were so many amazing people there. The energy was electrifying. They had the NYPD band doing their thing. They killed it. I didn't even know the NYPD had a band. Um and and they were singing amazing. Like had us all in party mode. It was amazing. The mayor came through, said his words. Chachi performed. She absolutely killed it. And it was just a dope way to kick off like Boriqua week in the city. What was really also nostalgic about the entire experience is I started my career on Wall Street. When I graduated from college, my first job out of college was at Lehman Brothers and I worked on Wall Street for several years. But even before that, y'all, my dad used to have a restaurant on Wall Street that he managed not too far from the Bull, which is where the flag rising was. And I was like, how crazy is it that as a little girl, I would come to Wall Street. I would go to work with my dad, y'all. He used to work wake me up at like 4:00 a.m. in the morning, get me dressed so that we can be at the restaurant. I think we had to be there by 5:30 a.m. It was tough, y'all. I used to sleep in the booth. It was a whole situation. Okay. Um, but it did teach me a lot about work ethic, for sure. I get a lot of my work ethic from my dad. And the reason why I go so hard is very much because of those early days of me waking up and seeing him grind out, okay, um, to this restaurant every day. So, as a little girl, boom, already foreshadowing. Then, as an adult, graduate from college, my first job out of college is on Wall Street. Boom, I'm there on Wall Street for several years. Now, fast forward and I'm in my 40s now. Oh my god, that's crazy to say out loud. I'm 41, just for the record. In my 40s now, and I'm back on Wall Street watching my flag, my Boriqua flag get risen in the heart of New York City, the financial district by the bull. So, it was just a dope experience to know that now I'm back on Wall Street as an entrepreneur, living my life like is golden, supporting Chachi, who is amazing, you know, coming out to see Lorraine, coming out to see the mayor. It was just a dope way to kick off Borua weekend. So, fast forward to the parade, y'all. The parade was a vibe. I went for the first time. I walked for the first time in the parade last year. Shout out to team Rio, Rebecca, Eva Lisa, and the whole crew um and OMI because uh they were being honored last year and so they uh invited a whole bunch of Latinas and Latinos, Boriquas out to their float uh to support them. And it was such an incredible experience, y'all. I cannot tell you how dope it is to be in a space where you can just feel the love and you can feel the energy. There is nothing like it. And when you're on that float and you're about to turn down on Fifth Avenue and you just see the sea of flags and everyone screaming and everyone saying Puerto Rico and everyone yelling out Puerto Rico. Did you know that the National Puerto Rican Day Parade is the largest cultural celebration in the country? Between three and five million people attend and tune in every single year. Like that's how big the celebration is. And so imagine being on a float turning on the infamous Fifth Avenue in New York City and all you see is this beautiful sea of gorgeous people and Puerto Rican flags. It was insane. It was one of the best experiences in my life. I was on the ultimate high for so long. And fast forward to this year, I wasn't on a float. Now, I was in VIP in front of the main stage where all the performances took place, where they were broadcasting live. So, shout out to everybody who sent me the screenshots of seeing me on TV. I was like, "Oh, should I say this?" I was right in front of um the camera crew. So, I kept getting in the shots and it was just amazing because every float had to pass us. And in VIP, what's really cool is you have benches, so you get to sit down. They also give you water. They give you sandwiches. They gave out flags. We had our own bathrooms, y'all. It was just a vibe. I was like, "Okay, VIP, I could see myself doing the VIP date quite often." And I just really appreciated the experience. I got to invite some amazing ladies to join me. Shout out to Somanti Fitness. Shout out to Cheryl over on IG. Shout out to her boot thing Henry who took amazing photos that day. Shout out to Art by Sir. I wore her jewelry. She has amazing jewelry. If you guys want to see it, go check out the feed on Instagram. I am Victoria Jenn. I posted a whole bunch of shots. I had these gorgeous Puerto Rican flag earrings, rings. It was just I was I was literally looking like the flag, y'all. Okay. I I came I came out to show out. Okay. And that's one of the fun parts of going to the parade for me is the whole outfit. Like the outfit there needs to be a fit. Like you need to like blend in. You need to represent it. You need to represent. You know what I mean? And so having the outfit really allows for you to just, you know, feel it and be in the groove of it all. So VIP was a vibe. So happy we got to do that. and some lessons learned I want to cover with you guys. So from this experience I I learned a lot and the number one thing I learned is to go where you feel alive. Go where you feel alive. Go where you feel joy. Where you are smiling, you're laughing. you just have this electrifying energy going from your toes all the way to your head. Go there as often as possible because it makes you feel like there's purpose. It makes you feel like, okay, I'm just not in the routine of going to work every day. I'm just not in the routine of doing the same old same old. It's nice to kind of color outside the lines a little bit and be able to identify those things that bring you joy and make you happy so that you can double down on those things because it makes a difference when you're able to know, okay, what are the things that truly make me smile? What are the things that light me up? What are the things that put like this fire inside of me that makes me just want to go harder the next day or makes me just feel like, wow, life is beautiful. Do more of those things, y'all. Okay? And go where you're accepted. I mean, as a Borikua at the parade, you just feel like you belong, right? You feel like you are a big part of the success of the city. You feel like you're home. You feel like you're surrounded by community. All of these things make a huge difference in your confidence and how you feel about yourself, how you feel about life. And this follows you in meetings, networking events, negotiations, when you show up on social media. It all intertwines, right? It all adds to the recipe of what makes you amazing. But you need to make sure that you're adding in those integral like ingredients in order for you to truly come out as the best meal. Honey, we don't want to be a smack. We want to be a whole meal. Okay? We are not snacks. We are a meal. Okay? Moving along. Next lesson learned is to bring people with you. When you have an opportunity to introduce people, to see you in a different light, to introduce people to your culture, to introduce people to something that gets you excited, to introduce you to people to join you in your element. It's a great relationship builder and it's also a great way for you to build community as well. And people are thankful when you think of them, right? When you think of them in the way where you want to invite them to something cool like coming to VIP at the the National Puerto Rican Day parade. So, if you have an opportunity where there's an event going on and you're able to get an extra ticket or somebody is, you know, able to put you in a specific area at an event and you're able to look out for somebody else, make sure you're looking out for them and inviting them, right? Another great example. So, the same week of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, the Tribeca Film Festival is also going on. Shout out to my boy Patrick who hooked me up with tickets to go see Carrie Washington give um a talk in partnership with a woman who's been honored uh at the White House. They both were amazing and it was just an incredible conversation. I had never been to one of the Tribeca Film Festival events before and he got me tickets. He said I could bring someone and so I invited someone to join me, someone that I felt would appreciate the experience and that I wanted to build a relationship with. Shout out to Lette for being my hot day. And it was again just a primary example of, okay, here I have this opportunity. Who do I want to bring into my world? Who do I want to build a relationship with? And just being mindful of that. And a great way for you to kind of keep track of this because I know we're coming across people all the time is to make a list. Make a list of people that you want to build relationships with. Okay? And there doesn't need to be a strong agenda to it. Maybe you just felt like they have dope energy and you just want to be around their energy. Maybe they made you laugh a lot, right? Or maybe they are doing amazing work and you're inspired by them. So you just want to build a relationship with them. Keep that list handy so that when opportunities come up where you're in a position where you can give and invite someone into your world, you already have your list of people that you're going to tap in on. Okay. All right. Next lesson learned. My next lesson learned is you never know who is sitting next to you. You never know who is sitting next to you. Okay, so we're sitting in VIP. I'm with the girls. I'm with Henry who also is a photographer. And so he's taking dope shots of everything. He's taking content for us. He was amazing. And uh there was this woman who was sitting in front of us and we had to like get up because we had to use the restroom or we had to get up because we wanted to take some content. And we can sense that she was getting a little annoyed, right? She was getting a little annoyed and she was like, "Oh no, you guys can't keep getting up." But there was really no other way for us to get up unless we asked her to get up because she was like in front of us. And so we noticed that she was getting a little antsy. And so Samante was like, "Oh, let Henry take your picture." And as soon as she said that, she her her guard came automatically down. And whatever animosity she was feeling in that moment or tension, it went away. And she was ready, honey. Okay? She was ready to take her photos. She was ready to like be friends at that point. So, the day continues to go on. Everyone's having an amazing time. And then I had an opportunity to have a conversation with her and I was like, "Oh, you know what brings you to VIP? Like, how'd you get here?" So, what I found out is that she would handle the PR for all the major Latino artists over the last 30 years. She also was the main agency who would cover the PR for the Puerto Rican Day parade. So, she w had so much knowledge and so much insight into how the parade came about, but also she was a big part of the reason why so many Latinos we know in music right now was because of her and her agency. And it actually was a family business. So, there would have been no way for me to know that. and meet her if I didn't open my mouth, right? If I didn't open my mouth and say, "Hey, like what brings you here, right? How'd you end up in VIP?" Just a natural conversation, right? And I got all this information and learned all these amazing things about her, right? So, and who knows where that relationship will go. I'll probably see her next year and give her a big hug. But it's those little moments, y'all. those little moments that are just human regular interactions that you should be taking advantage of because you just never know. You just never know who is sitting next to you and where that relationship can take you. Don't be afraid to speak up. Don't be afraid to say hello. Don't be afraid to smile. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to engage with people. Even if you're an introvert, you can connect with other introverts. There's tons of introverts out there, okay? Like, make it your business to just connect. I think right now more than ever before, that human interaction is so imperative. Like, we need to connect with other humans, especially everything that's going on with AI, just the current state of affairs. Like, we need community. We need community and we need to connect. But the only way that's going to happen for you is if you actually like show up like go outside. Go outside and meet people and engage. All right. Next lesson learned. The last thing I wrote here because I took some notes was when God gives you an opportunity, show up. When God gives you an opportunity, show up. You know, when Lorraine offered those VIP tickets to me and invited me to the flag rising, I could have easily said, "Oh, you know what? Can your team mail it to me?" I could have easily said that, right? I could have easily also said, "You know what? I'm good on the tickets. Thank you so much. I rather not." I could have stayed in my cocoon. I could have Netflix and chill. I could have stayed home, right? Also, when I knew Chachi was going to perform at the flag rising, like I didn't have to offer to help with social media, right? I could have just showed up and met her there. When God gives you an opportunity, pay attention. Pay attention to the signs, y'all. And they're all around us, happening every single day. Pay attention to the signs. God got you. And if you don't believe in God, the universe got you. And God, the universe, whatever you believe in, will test you. We'll test you to see if you are indeed paying attention. If you're paying attention, right? If you're paying attention to the blessings that are right in front of you. I want to end with thanking everyone who I met at the parade and also at the afterparty in the Bronx. I got to hang out with Fat Joe, with Floor Rita, with so many amazing comedians, Latino comedians in this space. Shout out to Ben for putting me on and letting me know that's where the afterparty was. And shout out to everyone who came up to me and introduced themselves to me. If you're in the community, if you listen to the podcast, please don't ever hesitate to say hello. I want to hug you guys. I want to thank you for your support. Especially if you listen to the podcast because whenever anyone says that they tune in to Banking on Cultura, I almost want to shed a tear because this project y'all is a labor of love. And so when I hear that you guys are appreciating the content and you're loving it and you're learning from it and you're feeling better about yourself and you're implementing the plays that you are learning, that means that God is using me and that he is uh allowing me to really speak to my people to you and that means the world to me. I believe that is my purpose here. I believe that is why I am here on this planet is to inspire, educate and talk my [ __ ] That is my purpose. Um and so I want to hear from you guys, okay? And so come up to me when you see me in person. Hugs, pictures, all the things. Um also we are always looking for feedback. There should be a survey link in the show notes. It should take you less than a minute for you to complete it. Please give us your feedback. I would love to hear from you. Also, we do have an email address for you guys to send in your questions, for you guys to tell us who you think should be on the show, and you can reach out to us at bankingoncultura@gmail.com. So, reach out to us. We love to hear from our community. If there's someone you think we should interview, if there's a topic you want me to discuss, please let me know. Or if you just want to share love, we're open to that, too. Um, wherever you are tuning in from, y'all, if you're watching us on YouTube, if you're streaming us on Apple, Spotify, whatever platform you are tuning in from, uh, if you can leave us a review on that platform, that would be amazing. 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It's like when you go on Amazon and you're going to buy a product. Where do you go? You go to the reviews, right? You want to know if it's like worth your time, if it's actually going to give the value that it is stating it offers, right? So, those reviews mean everything, okay? And it's so important to hear from you guys. So, I would be so appreciative if you leave your review wherever you are tuning in from. Complete our survey should be in the show notes. And also, I want to end with letting you guys know that I am honored to show up every week and deliver this content to you guys. It is a labor of love, but it also is something that I find joy in. I really do love to share information and help you guys secure the big bag and set you up for success mentally, spiritually, emotionally, financially, in all the ways, okay? because we are all a work in progress and if I can do my part to support you then I am truly as I mentioned earlier living in my purpose. So with that, thank you so much for tuning in. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you weren't able to attend the Puerto Rican Day parade this year, make sure you go next year. It happens every single year, the second weekend in June. I promise you will not be disappointed. And to all my borquas tuning in, whip up. I love you guys. Ciao. See you in the next episode. Hey guys, if you enjoyed this video, I'm pretty sure you're going to love the next one. So, make sure to click right here and tap in to the next episode.