Several organizations, from the Vieques Support Campaign to Pro-Libertad, which campaigns for the release of Puerto Rican political prisoners, are among the sponsors of the contingent. The upswing in the anticolonial struggle in Puerto Rico has politicized the parade this year, which is officially dedicated to the people of Vieques and to Pedro Albizu Campos, historic leader of the independence movement.

Some 10,000 people from Puerto Rico are planning to participate in the parade, a spokesperson for the parade committee reported. Among these are 400 members of the Hostos National Congress, a pro-independence organization that has chartered a plane to New York.

Also coming from Puerto Rico will be hundreds of residents of Vieques, a large religious delegation, and representatives from 22 trade unions. These include the telephone workers union, the Federation of Teachers, and the Puerto Rican Federation of Workers (CPT).

There will several political events leading up to the Puerto Rican Day Parade. One will be a June 10 forum and benefit for the Vieques struggle featuring Ismael Guadalupe, leader of the Committee for the Rescue and Development of Vieques.  
 
 
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