The Puerto Rican Day parade and festivities at Seaside Park drew crowds of proud residents Sunday, but the parade has an even deeper meaning for one southwestern Connecticut resident.

Olga Leiva?s parents were part of a group of people who helped bring the parade to the state in the 1960s. The first Connecticut parade was held in 1964 in Hartford. The next year, it was held in Bridgeport for the first time.

She says she has never missed a Puerto Rican Day Parade in Connecticut and has watched the parade grow. She served as the parade?s Madrina, Spanish for godmother, this year.

"I love seeing our people waving their flags and showing their pride. I love the fact that it's the day where we all come out and shout for joy that we are Puerto Ricans,? Leiva said.