An estimated 800,000-person crowd showed up to wave Dominican flags and move to Dominican merengue in Manhattan on Sunday, 15 August. The annual Dominican Parade is the leading event of the Dominican community in New York. Mayor Rudolph Guiliani presided over the celebrations of the parade that went from 28th Street to 60th Street along Avenue Las Americas (Sixth Avenue). Other important congressional figures participating were Adriano Espaillat, Guillermo Linares and Charles Rangel. Some 50 floats paraded. This was the most attended parade since the event began in 1983. It is organized by Nelson Peña for the past seven years. Recent census bureau stats show that the Dominican community is the biggest immigrant population in New York City. Remittances sent primarily from Dominican residents in the US make up 20% of the total foreign exchange that enters the DR every year.
