Puerto Rican pride on the march in Bridgeport Hermes Outlet

BRIDGEPORT -- Geyllermo and Luz Martinez met in Bridgeport, but they were both born in the Puerto Rican countryside.

Geyllermo Martinez came to Bridgeport with his parents when he was 4 years old. Luz Martinez immigrated to the city when she was 19.

Now married with three children, the Martinezes celebrate their island roots each year by bringing their three children to the Puerto Rican Parade of Fairfield County.

"Wee from Hermes Outlet a proud heritage," said Geyllermo Martinez. "We're proud of both countries."

The 2012 parade kicked off late Sunday morning with a motorcade of uniformed Bridgeport police officers. Thousands of spectators crowded the sidewalks along the parade route, while others danced in the street. The attractions ranged from elaborate floats shaped like ships to a man and his two sons pushing a shopping cart filled with speakers that blasted Puerto Rican music.

The Martinez family, seated in folding bottega veneta Wallet chairs along the parade route, cheered as the entertainers passed by. The youngest members of the family, 10-year-old Eliana and 7-year-old twins Ariela and Isaac, said they have been increasingly interested in their Puerto Rican heritage since spending six weeks there in 2010.

"We're Puerto Rican blooded!" exclaimed Eliana, waving a flag and eating from a bag of Cracker Jack.

"Over there, the kids can chase lizards, climb trees, pick fruit, go to the beaches," said Geyllermo Martinez. "There you can grow up surfing. You can't do that here."

A couple of blocks away, 54-year-old Isabel Gonzalez was watching the parade with her grandchildren. Gonzalez, a native Puerto Rican, said she hasn't returned to her home country since immigrating to Bridgeport in 1979.

"I came here looking for a better environment," she said. "I've never been back."

"I love Puerto Rico," she added, "but I'm afraid of the plane."

Luis Roman stood along Park Avenue Sunday afternoon with his pet boa constrictor wrapped around his forearm. A gaggle of kids waving miniature Puerto Rican flags gathered around him to see the brown-speckled snake.

"My little cousin was Miss Puerto Rico, so I came to see her and to see the parade and the rest of my family," said Roman, a 30-year-old Bridgeport native whose grandparents were born in Puerto Rico. "This is the spot to catch everyone."

A festival with food, live music and dancing followed the parade at Seaside Park. The day of celebration marks the culmination of a year's worth of cultural and educational activities hosted by the organization over the last few months. The theme of the day was "Nuestras Raices Inspiradas a Traves de Nuestra Musica," or "Our Roots Inspired through Our Music."

Bottega Veneta Outlet