Thousands of people filled Midtown Manhattan on Sunday for the 44th annual National Dominican Day Parade, bringing Dominican pride, cultural heritage and community unity to Sixth Ave. (Image: NBC New York) Caribbean sounds and traditional merengue music kicked off the celebration, with dancers , costumes and floats. “I feel so proud to be Dominican because we always bring our roots to every place we are and we stay,” said Wendy Marines, a Dominican living in New York. For many attending, the parade was also about broader support across communities. “It means to be a part of something bigger, you know, Davina Somervilla, an attendee is Guyanese, told NBC New York. “We all have to support each other.” (Image: NBC New York) Marines said the crowd’s enthusiasm was a major part of the experience. “You feel that energy of the people, you know, like supporting you, supporting our country and beautiful people. And you can see by the way they react when they see, you know, the music, the food, everything.” Some attendees highlighted the immigrant experience and what it means to build a life in the U.S. (Image: NBC New York) “Both of my parents are from Dominican Republic, so I just think it’s very important to highlight the fact that people come over here to seek a better life and to really build stuff for themselves, and I feel like that’s what they did, and I’m very proud of it,” said Melanie Jiménez, who is also Dominican and living in New York. The New York City Police Dept. Band played along the route, and as police and the New York City Fire Dept. joined in the celebration. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-New York), state Attorney General Letitia James (D-New York) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-New York City) also marched in the parade. The Dominican flag waved throughout the route. NBC 4 New York and Telemundo 47 also shared in the fun with a float. This year’s theme was “Identity and Culture,” and several prominent Dominican figures were recognized. Among the parade’s stars are Shino Aguakate and Lizbel Ortiz, and the parade king was media personality and radio host Frederick Martínez (“El Pachá”). This year’s Grand Marshal was Dr. Ramón Tallaj of SOMOS Community Care, and a legacy award was set to be presented to Goya Foods. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC New York. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC New York journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less