Singer-songwriter and humanitarian Juan Luis Guerra has been named the grand marshal of this year’s Dominican Day parade, a celebration of the people and culture of the Dominican Republic. This year the parade will be highlighting and honoring the contributions of Dominican women in our communities. Hashtag, GirlPower.
Juan Luis Guerra named Grand Marshal, 2016 parade will celebrate honoring & empowering Dominican women. https://t.co/GzCv3QPDOA
— Dominican Day Parade (@drparadeny) June 14, 2016
The announcement was made in honor of The Mirabal Sisters, also known as “The Butterflies.” The feminist Mirabal sisters were fierce women that led a revolutionary movement 57 years ago in the Dominican Republic. Bravely, they fought against arguably one of Latin America’s worst dictators, Rafael Trujillo. The revolution unfortunately tragically cost the sisters their lives, but shortly after, Trujillo himself was murdered by those who continued The Butterflies’ fight.
“Today’s world leaders recognize the importance of supporting the economic and political advancement of women and girls throughout the world,” said Angela Fernandez, Chair of the Dominican Day Parade, Inc (DDP.) “We are beyond grateful to have Juan Luis Guerra and Daisy Auger-Dominguez, both distinguished Dominican leaders, support our mission of celebrating Dominican women who are the bedrock of our communities.”
The goal is to honor and empower Dominican women, and raise awareness for future generations of strong, innovative women. The DDP will be announcing in the following weeks their roster of approximately 20 Dominican women being recognized at this year’s parade, along with other celebrities joining the festivities. The parade will also be highlighting the DDP’s mission to provide scholarships to the Dominican youth, with 17 students already awarded scholarships and more to come.
Guerra will be leading the festivities up Sixth Avenue in Manhattan on August 14. See ya’ there!