With moves as fierce as the dragons on her costume, Queens resident Jaqueline Helmig leads the other San Simón marchers down Westchester Avenue with a whistle in her mouth to signal the next dance routine during the Bolivian Parade and Festival on Sunday, Aug. 26.
With a furry white suit and vibrant mask, this marcher with the Port Chester group Fraternidad Diablada is just one of several extravagant characters in the parade.
Dressed in gorgeous teal and purple outfits decorated with sea animals, people from the Fraternidad Folklorica Cultural Caporales Universitarios de San Simón simultaneously dance down Westchester Avenue.
Inspired by the energetic songs, Greenwood Avenue resident Kiara Mendoza, 4, and Grace Church Street resident Shanne Urrutia, 2, dance together in front of the St. John Bosco Church.
Instead of marching with the Fraternidad Morenada Central Port Chester contingent, Port Chester residents Valentina Tapia, 8, and Emily Delgado, 9, show off their colorful dresses up front on a car float.
Poningo Street resident Marcela Delgadillo represents Kullaguada Bolivia in her vivacious blue and orange dress.
Port Chester resident Marcela Valdez, from the Kullaguada Bolivia group, momentarily steps out of the parade to embrace a loved one, 6-year-old Corpus Christi School student Jayden Esterada.
A group of men from the Morenada Central U.S.A. group close out the parade in their eccentric blue and yellow round costumes.
Before the parade begins, Meidy Candia uses the reflection from the Knights of Columbus hall window at 327 Westchester Ave. to make final adjustments to her outfit. The Queens resident is preparing to march in the Bolivian Parade alongside others from Morenada Central U.S.A.
While recovering from hip surgery, Port Chester Mayor Richard “Fritz” Falanka still shows his support for the Bolivian community by leading the parade in the passenger seat of a Port Chester police car.
Stamford, Conn. resident Ninoska Aleman leads the Port Chester group Centro Cultural Bolivia while waving their flag.
Bolivian flags in hand, 6-year-old Joseph Bologna sits on the curb outside his Westchester Avenue apartment to watch the parade pass by.
The group representing Santa Cruz de la Sierra show they’re the life of the party as they spend the parade dancing and cheering with each other.
Queens resident from Fraternidad Folklorica Cultural Caporales Universitarios de San Simón Stephanie Zurita leads a line of other women in a circular dance.
Ashley Riveros waves a Bolivian flag and rocks her green and yellow outfit as she dances in front of the Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library during the parade. The rising Park Avenue Elementary School fifth-grader is representing the Morenada Central U.S.A. group.
