El Mensajero (English)

Two popular neighborhood festivals, both offering plenty of food, music and fun for kids, coincided Aug. 28 when the Puerto Rican Youth Development neighborhood fair and the Fiesta del Barrio at St. Michael's Church took place within a few blocks of one another on North Clinton Avenue in Rochester.

The 41st-annual Puerto Rican Festival, held July 30-Aug. 1 outside Rochester's Frontier Field, attracted a crowd of 25,000 people over three days. This year's festival included a 5K road race and a health fair in addition to a parade, music, games, food and souvenir vendors.

The Miss Puerto Rico of Rochester 2010 Cultural Pageant took place on July 10 at the Rochester Museum and Science Center's Eisenhart Auditorium. The pageant, presented by the Puerto Rican Festival Inc., had six contestants who were judged in five categories: Cultural Expression, a personal interview, Character, Elegance & Poise, and a final judges' question.

Brockport Ecumenical Outreach Committee's annual bienvenida celebration June 27 served to welcome migrant workers and their families to the Brockport area. A bilingual Mass celebrated by Father Jesús Flores, diocesan coordinator of migrant ministry, was held at Brockport's Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, followed by traditional Mexican dance performances by Alma Latina and a dinner at First Baptist Church of Brockport.

Parishioners of Rochester's Our Lady of the Americas Parish walked through the city on Good Friday, April 2, singing, praying and recalling the passion of Jesus. The procession started on Bay Street and ended inside Our Lady of the Americas Church on Main Street.

"New York Road Trip for Our Future," a five-day caravan across New York state, made its way through Rochester Feb. 17. Caravan participants, who started their trip on Long Island, were joined by local supporters as they demonstrated at the Pittsford office of Congressman Eric Massa (D-29th) and the Greece office of Congressman Chris Lee (R-26th), calling for comprehensive immigration reform to fix what they say is a broken system.