Darma V. Diaz, Sonia Velazquez and Bella Matias are three young ladies from Brooklyn who have forever loved the concept of the Puerto Rican Day parade. They love the fact that they come from one of the greatest cultures in the planet, the Puerto Rican culture.
The reason is because we as a race come in all colors, shapes, sizes and denominations. In one family you can actually have a brother who is white, a sister who is yellow, and a little brother who is black or brown. That being the case we see no color. This is something that was taught to me at a very early age by the terrific Yankee Sandy Alomar, whose son, baseball Hall of famer Roberto Alomar is being honored by these ladies this coming weekend.
With the fact that the Puerto Rican Day Parade was cancelled because of the coronavirus situation, the trio came up with the idea of having a virtual reality parade. They contacted David and James Torres, two guys known as the Bushwick Twins and cultural icons. Their murals are through-the-roof and they literally transformed a little section of Bushwick to look like a town in Puerto Rico. The area that they occupy is literally a museum's row. You can feel the spirits of all great athletes and entertainers from Roberto Clemente and Robby Alomar to Tito Puente, Celia Cruz and even Elvis Presley.
Virtual parade organizer Bella Matias, center with artists David Torres and James Torres, known as The Bushwick Twins. (Photo by Ray Negron)
The parade will honor so many of the incredible talents to come out of Puerto Rico. That talent includes Benicio del Toro and, of course, Hollywood's No. 1 character actor of all time, Luis Guzman.
The fact that I spent 10 years of my life in this section of Brooklyn, I am grateful to Bella, Sonia and Darma for their energy in this incredible project. The Bushwick twins are perfectionists in what they do, so the finished product on June 13 is gonna be fabulous.
Let's not forget that this type of parade has never been done before, so the interest and the pride that we should have not as Puerto Ricans, but as people in general, should be amazing. I also want to thank the committee for including me in this parade for my work in the community with the New York Yankees. I couldn't be more proud.
If you want to find out more about the Virtual Puerto Rican Day Parade go to the website: V-PRP.com.
Ray Negron is a sports executive with over 40 years of experience in baseball. His first job came from a chance encounter with George Steinbrenner as a youth. He has become an American film producer, a best-selling author, and a philanthropist. His memoir is entitled, "Yankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers." Read Ray Negron's Reports — More Here.
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