A day to celebrate Puerto Rican culture

Ask 4-year-old Jaime Rojas what he is - Mexican like his dad or Puerto Rican like his mom - and he answers with a big grin: "Mexi-Rican."

But Sunday was all about his maternal side as the family from Newark, Del., watched the Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway under a sunny Caribbean-blue sky.

"It's nice to remember where you're from," said Melanie Rojas, 25, a nutritionist who was born in the United States island territory.

The parade was not only a reminder of where many of Philadelphia's Puerto Ricans hail from, but also of their music, dances, and close family ties.

Family, said many paradegoers, is at the heart of Puerto Rican culture.

Barbara Sanchez, 44 and her daughter Maranda Martinez, 22, never miss the parade, but this year they brought Sanchez's wife, Casandra, and Martinez's three children, ages 4, 3, and 10 months.

"This shows you what Hispanics are all about," Martinez said as she unloaded her brood from the flag-bedecked car. "It's about our love of music and gathering together as a family."

This was the 52d annual celebration of Puerto Rican heritage in the streets of Philadelphia – a fall event that comes wrapped in the big star of the island's red, white, and blue flag, backed by a pulsating salsa beat and a penchant for occasionally generating controversy.

Unlike New York's big annual Puerto Rican parade, which attracts celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, Philadelphia's festivities are homegrown. Except for a slew of politicians, including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Wolf, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams, and Councilman Angel Ortiz, among others, the biggest star marching in the parade was Ronald McDonald.

But there were squadrons of police and firefighters, high school marching bands, and teenage dance troupes in a colorful array of ruffled and sequined costumes, marching from 18th and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Eakins Oval at the Art Museum.

If the parade was smaller than in previous years - police estimated about 2,500 were in attendance - that's because it was competing with two Latino community concerts, organizers said.

Joanna Otero-Cruz, executive director of El Concilio, which organizes the parade, said about 1,500 participated in the event.

The organization planned two alcohol-free celebration areas where people could hear more music, enjoy a variety of ethnic foods, and learn about Latin culture - one at Lighthouse Field at Front and Erie, and the other at Fairhill Park.

In 2012, problems with crowd control and rowdy behavior boiled over and made national headlines when a Philadelphia police lieutenant, Jonathan Josey, was captured in an online video punching a 39-year-old woman after someone else threw water at nearby officers.

Despite the video's notoriety and public outrage, Josey was ultimately acquitted on assault charges by a judge, and his firing from the police force was overturned by an arbitrator.

On Sunday, all was calm as families waved flags and cheered on the dancers and beauty queens.

For the Ortiz and Ramos clans, it was a chance to show their children where they come from, said Vivian Ortiz, 34, of the Spring Garden section of the city.

"Many of them are third generation and most of them don't speak Spanish," she said, standing with her husband, Venancio, and two children, along with her cousin Diana Ramos and Ramos' two children. "I think it's a good opportunity to show our kids their society and culture."

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@kathyboccella