Westchester teacher celebrates Puerto Rican culture through creation of parade float
NEW YORK (WABC) -- In an art studio in Mount Vernon, New York, a Westchester County public school teacher has been hard at work completing her passion project.
"I am super excited to be designing a float for this year's New York City Puerto Rican Day Parade," said Emlyn Taveras. "I'm thrilled to do this in collaboration with the South Bronx Charter School for international Cultures and the Arts. This year we're celebrating legendary Puerto Rican artists, Nitza Tufiño, and so our float is really a celebration of cultural richness."
This is the second year Taveras has designed a float for the parade.
"This year, our float symbolizes a bridge, connecting our past to our present, connecting our elders to our youth, and being able to preserve the tradition while at the same time embracing sort of this transformative energy that our young people are giving us, and so it's going to have a little bit of the New York City grit," Taveras said.
All of that New York City grit is displayed on a float that Taveras views as a gigantic moving sculpture with a 30-foot space to install several paintings.
This year she is working to bridge the gap between the culture on the island with influences from the Puerto Rican community abroad.
"So we've got the Puerto Rican hibiscus, which is really a symbol for resilience and strength and bravery," Taveras said. "And then there is the Coqui, and you have a little bit of graffiti elements that we sort of kind of use to transform into this like New York gritty vibe."
Taveras hopes as the float makes its way up the parade, the crowd will see a moving celebration of culture, identity, community and resilience that is the Puerto Rican people.
WABC-TV is a proud broadcast partner of the parade. You can watch it on Channel 7 and wherever you stream ABC 7 New York at noon on Sunday, June 8.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
