Crowds, music, floats for NYC’s Puerto Rican Day Parade

Jayda Vazquez, 12, left, and Kaylee Vazquez, 8, wave from atop a convertible in the procession as the annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade makes its way up New York's Fifth Ave., Sunday, June 14, 2015. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the parade which celebrates the heritage and identity of Puerto Ricans living in New York. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen) Jayda Vazquez, 12, left, and Kaylee Vazquez, 8, wave from atop a convertible in the procession as the annual National Puerto Rican Day Parade makes its way up New York's Fifth Ave., Sunday, June 14, 2015. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the parade which celebrates the heritage and identity of Puerto Ricans living in New York. (AP Photo/Kevin Hagen)

By Associated Press June 14, 2015 1 min read

NEW YORK (AP) – Entertainer Rita Moreno took Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan for a dancing spin in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue during the Puerto Rican Day Parade.

At 83, Moreno was the grand marshal of Sunday’s festivities, which turned more than 1 million spectators into a sea of red, white and blue. They’re the colors of the Puerto Rican flag, also splashed across 20,000 marchers who moved up the avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street.

At the front was Puerto Rico’s governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, followed by New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, a Puerto Rico native.

She danced to Latino rhythms that were the pounding soundtrack of the 58th annual parade. The decibel level hit fever pitch with handheld horns and whistles from the sidelines.