Bolivian Independence celebrated with flair in Jersey City

Published: Saturday, August 07, 2010, 4:42 PM Updated: Saturday, August 07, 2010, 6:16 PM

Amy Sara Clark/The Jersey Journal

Amy Sara Clark/The Jersey JournalDancers at the Seventh Annual Bolivian Parade and Celebration held on August 7, 2010.

More than 1,200 dancers and hundreds of spectators came out for the Seventh Annual Bolivian Parade and Celebration in Jersey City today.

The event -- which celebrates 185 years of Bolivian independence -- began with a parade at noon beginning in Hamilton Park and ending at City Hall, where a celebration took place.

Twenty groups from across the East Coast participated in the parade, said Susy Herrera, of Union City, who is vice president of Centro De Residentes Bolivianos en Nueva Jersey, which organized the event.

Dancers and musicians -- from preschoolers to senior citizens -- twirled and stamped to traditional folk music as they made their way down Newark Avenue and Grove Street. Some were dressed in traditional Bolivian clothing while others wore short, cheerleader-like skirts and high heels.

Amy Sara Clark/The Jersey JournalDancers at the Seventh Annual Bolivian Parade and Celebration held on August 7, 2010.

As dancers sweated in the 85-degree heat, support staff ran up from the sidelines offering swigs of water, lemon and lime wedges and spritzes from spray bottles.

On the sidelines crowds stood cheering and waving Bolivian flags.

Rolando Salazar, 51, of Sayreville, said he came to see the parade because it reminds him of his youth in La Paz.

"They (the dancers) remind me of my parents. They always took us to these kinds of events," he said.

Courtenay Mercer, 32, of Jersey City, stood on the sidelines snapping photos with her cell phone.

Amy Sara Clark/The Jersey JournalCrowds cheer at the Seventh Annual Bolivian Parade and Celebration held on August 7, 2010 in Jersey City.

She was out with her husband, 2-year-old daughter, and extended family when they happened upon the parade.

"We came out to lunch at Medina and saw it. My daughter is loving it," she said.

Yashira Delgado, 23, of North Bergen, came with her three young children, as well as her sister and father. She's from Caporales, Bolivia, but her children, 3-year-old Katherine, and 2-year-old Rodriego and Gabriel, were born in the U.S.

"It's important to bring children to see the culture," she said.

Enlarge Doug Bauman/The Jersey Journal Leigha Ramirez dances with Pasion Boliviana during the 7th Annual Bolivian Day Parade hosted by the Center of Bolivian Residents of New Jersey in downtown Jersey City Saturday, Aug. 7, 2010. Doug Bauman/The Jersey Journal Seventh Annual Bolivian Day Parade gallery (9 photos)

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