Throughout the year, New Yorkers parade to show their belonging to a nation, religion or community. Funny, serious, iconoclastic, these colorful parades pay homage to the city’s multicultural roots.
A green tide has been sweeping since 11 a.m. on Manhattan. Every March 17, nearly 2 million New Yorkers walk 5th Avenue to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, the patron saint ofIreland. At the foot of the Rockefeller Center skyscrapers, processions of police officers, firefighters, majorettes follow one another to the sound of bagpipes and drum rolls. Wearing a pointed hat adorned with shamrocks, his face painted in the colors of the Irish flag (green, white, orange), Jack O’Rourke plays the guides: “The first Saint-Patrick took place in 1762, that is to say fourteen years before. the declaration of independence of the United States, and it was in New York! Yes sir!” This bartender, whose grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1920s, knows how to set the mood. “Have you ever had green beer?” Come and taste! Don’t be shy! ” he launches out loud.
AT New York, it is forbidden to drink alcohol on the street. The tasting takes place in the pub. “In the past, St. Patrick’s Day was a Catholic holiday reserved for the Irish. It has become a celebration open to all who like to dress up in green, sing, dance and drink, ”enthuses Jack. Difficult to contradict him. This is evidenced by the “Today I’m Irish” badges hanging on the scarves of thousands of New Yorkers. For good Irish society in New York, however, things are different. The organizers, united in the Irish American Historical Society, refuse to allow gays of Irish origin to take part in the parade. Fiercely opposed to same-sex marriage, Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, is now in the sights of the gay community. She was offended that the town hall was participating in the financing of the renovation work on Saint-Patrick’s Cathedral, amounting to 177 million dollars (145 million euros).
A way to show pride in your origins
Like the Irish, each group of immigrants has its parade. Lunar New Year for the Chinese, Feast of San Gennaro for the Italians, Pulaski Parade for the Poles, Steuben Parade for the Germans, Tartan Day for the Scots … Throughout the year, New Yorkers parade to demonstrate their belonging to a nation, religion or community. A way to show pride in its origins, while paying homage to the city’s multicultural roots. Land of choice for immigrants, New York is a unique melting pot. Following the waves of immigration, Greeks, Mexicans, Haitians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, each in turn, took to the streets to parade. For the latest arrivals, it is a question of integrating.
If New York is a plural city endowed with an astonishing capacity for assimilation, it was not built without clashes or violence. West Side Story features the rivalry between two gangs of young New Yorkers, the Sharks (Puerto Ricans) and the Jets (Irish, Poles, Italians). In the 1950s, accounts were settled with stabs. Considered then unassimilable, Puerto Ricans are now taking their revenge. This June 10, 5th Avenue belongs to them. Couples dance salsa on carnival floats, red, white and blue flags in hand. Leading the procession, Felix, from Bronx, proudly holds up the portrait of Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latino to be appointed President of the Supreme Court in 2009. “We would have liked her to be by our side! he exclaims. I am very proud of her, especially since she grew up in my neighborhood. ”
In New York, no community is left out to parade, parade and party. Costumes and crews compete for originality.
If the parades are an opportunity to show off your success with ostentation, they are also a reflection of the tensions that American society is going through. After the September 11th 2001, Muslims tiptoed in march. “For a long time, American Muslims did not dare to speak out. Those who did not know Islam took the opportunity to stigmatize them. The Muslim Day Parade gives them reassurance, ”analyzes Akbar Ahmed, professor at the American University in Washington. The feeling of unease that inhabits the Muslim community remains strong. At the height of the controversy over the construction of a Muslim cultural center near Ground Zero (summer 2010), African-American, Pakistani, Syrian and Senegalese imams marched side by side to remind people that Islam is not a violent monolithic religion. An invisible symbol for protesters chanting Islamophobic slogans, US Constitution in hand.
An electric atmosphere that we find on the day of the Israel parade. Launched in 1964, this celebration, which is held along Central Park, is the largest demonstration of support for Israel in the world. This June 3, the blue Star of David floats in the same direction as the star-spangled banner. Baruch, a computer scientist from Brooklyn, is very cynical about the president obama: “We can’t trust him. Of course, he will travel to Jerusalem this summer to reassure the Jewish electorate. But everyone knows he gave up on Israel’s security. He is too naive about Iran. We must elect Romney, in November.”
The profusion of parades invite the craziest disguises.
On the sidelines of the parade, discordant voices do not hesitate to be heard. The parade acts as a sounding board for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Orthodox Jews of Neturei Karta Hasidic march each year, Palestinian flag in hand. Many New Yorkers do not find themselves in these nationalist and religious high masses. Symbol of diversity, New York has seen the birth, in recent years, of dozens of cultural parades as surprising as they are improbable. Dance parade, Halloween parade, dog parade, idiot parade, Thanksgiving parade … With an astonishing spirit of tolerance, New York has adapted to the multiplication of ethnic, religious and cultural identities.
This profusion of parades does not suit the authorities
The Mermaid Parade, which takes place in June, in Coney Island, south of Brooklyn, is very popular. Here, we are not afraid of the ridiculous. Charlotte, a young professional belly dancer, has dressed up in a daring outfit. Pink parasol in hand to protect herself from the blazing sun, she wears a long wavy purple wig, topped with a crown of starfish, and a turquoise scale jumpsuit. “I love this parade! Everyone competes for creativity, ”she rejoices. From Surf Avenue to the beach, there are the craziest costumes. Between the pirate, the seahorse, the octopus and the hot dog, there is something for everyone. “Tradition has it that we pinch the one who is not in disguise,” warns Dan, who has threaded crab claws on his forearms.
The Caribbean Carnival attracts 2 million spectators!
However, tolerance has not always been the order of the day in New York. The first one Gay Pride was born in 1969 in the wake of a series of riots launched by homosexuals, the day after a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, an iconic gay bar in Greenwich Village. Taken around the world, this flamboyant and eccentric parade has long been the high point of the civil rights movement for homosexuals. Renamed LGBT Pride (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual), it no longer attracts crowds as much. “Homosexuals are reaping the fruits of forty years of struggle. President Obama has declared himself in favor of same-sex marriage, already legalized in eight states including New York. Obviously, there is less need to display your pride, ”observes John, a former retired journalist.
If this profusion of parades is a joy to New Yorkers, this is not necessarily the case for public authorities. Systematic mobilization of police and cleaning services as well as stopping traffic is very costly. On April 1, 2010, the Police Department calmly announced draconian measures. From now on, the distance of parades would be reduced by 25% and their duration should not exceed five hours. In order to help the city achieve savings of 3.1 million dollars (2.5 million euros), everyone played the game. The mayor, Michael Bloomberg, hastened to cajole the participants. It is true that the parades are a formidable political weapon to heal its popularity rating. This one knows it better than anyone. In February, he was there to hand over the keys to the city to the captain of the New York Giants, on the occasion of a parade organized to celebrate the team’s victory in the final of the American football championship (Super Bowl). The mayor, who is jokingly said to spend all his weekends in Bermuda, will also be due in Brooklyn at the Caribbean carnival in September. The colors of Jamaica will be present alongside those of Guyana, Haiti, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. On the carnival floats, everyone will dance to the rhythm of reggae, calypso and soca.
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