Goya Foods recently participated in the 64th annual Jersey City Puerto Rican Day Parade and Festival celebrating Puerto Rican heritage and culture in one of New Jersey’s oldest cities.
The two-day celebration on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 17 and 18 ran from noon to 10 p.m. on Columbus Drive, between Warren Street and Marin Boulevard. It celebrated Puerto Rico’s diverse culture in culinary arts, music, pageantry and dance among other arts.
The parade and festival were founded in 1961 to keep Puerto Rican heritage alive by Juan Benitez, Diego Berrios, Rafael Bou, Santiago Bonilla, Rafael Rodriguez and Primitivo Valle. It is considered the largest parade and celebration of culture in the state.
Live music events during the festival include Coro Cynthia on Saturday, followed by Sunday performances with Johnny Rivera, Ray Sepulveda, Carlitos Padron Y Rumberos, Del Callejon and a tribute to the music of Willie Rosario. There was also a live boxing on Saturday, Aug. 17, at Marin Boulevard and Columbus Drive.
Headquartered in Jersey City and previously in Secaucus, the international Goya Foods has called the New Jersey Meadowlands home for the last 50 years. The largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States, other locations include state-of-the-art manufacturing and distribution centers in Texas, California, and Georgia. The company employs 5,000 people and has 26 facilities throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Spain.
“They say we will be the biggest group by 2050, if not maybe next week,” CEO and President Robert Uanaue told News 12 Brooklyn in 2022. “Seventy million Latinos in this country and we’re the second biggest Latino country in the world.”
Goya Gives, the philanthropic arm of the organization, continues to provide relief and supports nearly 300 organizations each year.
About GOYA
Founded in 1936 by Don Prudencio Unanue and his wife Carolina, both from Spain, the Goya story is as much about the importance of family as it is about achieving the American dream.
The company relocated from Lower Manhattan to Brooklyn in 1958, until it established its current headquarters in New Jersey in 1974.
Goya Foods, Inc. is America’s largest Hispanic-owned food company, and has established itself as the leader in Latin American food and condiments. Goya manufactures, packages, and distributes over 2,500 high-quality food products from Spain, Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America. Goya products have their roots in the culinary traditions of Hispanic communities around the world; the combination of authentic ingredients, robust seasonings and convenient preparation makes Goya products ideal for every taste and every table. For more information on Goya Foods, please visit www.goya.com