BY: Liliana Rocio, Senior Editor for World Liberty TV,  Sunday August 6^th 2023

The 40th Ecuadorian Parade NYC 2023 marches on Northern Blvd from 69th St to 89th St in Jackson Heights, Queens; on Sunday, August 6, 2023 from 12-3pm.

The Ecuadorian Parade kicks off at 68th Street and Northern Blvd in Jackson Heights and marches down to 89th Street in Corona. In prior years the parade / celebration was expected to last until about 4 pm.

The 40th Ecuadorian Parade NYC 2023 celebration continues with a Gala Banquet in Flushing Meadows Corona Park on Friday, August 5, 2023 at 8pm.

The 9th Festival Artistico Ecuatoriano 2023 featured live Ecuadorian music, dance performances, food, artisanal crafts and more fun for the entire family.

Thousands of spectators lined Northern Boulevard Sunday, Aug. 7, as the 37th Ecuadorian Parade NYC 2023 stepped off at noon at 69th Street in Woodside and made its way east through Jackson Heights to 87th Street.

The flag-bearing crowd showed their pride with many dressed in the national colors of their homeland — yellow, red, and blue — while representing the more than 250,000 Ecuadorian-American that have settled in Queens.

The extravaganza marks Ecuador’s Independence Day celebrated on Aug. 10, on the anniversary of the 1809 rebellion against Spain that began in Quito, which is now the South American nation’s national capital.

The uprising set off a chain of events that led to liberator Simón Bolivar declaring war on the Spanish colonial authorities.

On Oct. 9, 1820, Guayaquil became the first city to gain its independence from Spain. The rest of the country celebrated their independence following their victory at the Battle of Pichincha under the command of Bolívar on May 24, 1822.

The parade along Northern Boulevard was part of a series of events across Queens that began with an Independence Day Celebration at Borough Hall.

Featuring several musical and dancing performances and Ecuadorian food on Aug. 3 and a gala banquet at Flushing Meadows Corona Park two days later, culminating with the 40th Ecuadorian Festival and Parade.

Judge Carmen Valsquez, Justice Carmen R. Velasquez was elected to the Civil Court bench in New York on November 4, 2008 and elected in 2014 as Justice of the New York Supreme Court.

Justice Carmen Velasquez is the First Ecuadorian-American to be elected Justice in New York,USA. Justice Velasquez is currently presiding in Queens County Supreme Court Civil Part, NY.

Justice Carmen Velasquez was a founding member and Past President to Latino Lawyers of Queens County, was Co-Chair of the Judicial Council of the Hispanic National Bar Association, and was Vice-President of the Latino Judges Association.

Justice Velasquez is presently an Advisory Board member of the Latino Lawyers Association.

Immediate Past President of the Association of Supreme Court Justices of the State of NY, G-100 Global Chair, Committee.

Judge Velasquez is a lifetime member of the International Association of Women Judges and National Association of Women Judges, and recently elected National Secretary of the National Association of Women Judges.

Judge Velasquez, did a breakfast before the 40^th Annual Ecuadorian Parade, at 75^th Street and Northern Boulevard, it was a very special place because.

The Street is named in honor of Laura Almeida Egas,   Northern Boulevard and 75th Street in honor of Laura Almeida Egas, who immigrated to the United States more than four decades ago and is the mother of a state Supreme Court justice. Almeida passed away in November 2017.

“She was an exceptional woman,” her daughter, state Supreme Court Justice Carmen Velasquez, told board members. “She was my hero.”

A native of Ecuador, Almeida married at the age of 13 and moved to Queens with her family in 1975. She had four children, including Velasquez, who was elected to the Supreme Court in 2014. Velasquez is the first Ecuadorian American to serve on the Supreme Court and New York City Civil Court.Almeida’s grandchildren include a school teacher and a New York City police officer.

“The whole purpose of us submitting this application is not only to show that immigrants can do a lot for this country, but they can bring the children and make the children successful and contribute to our society,” said Velasquez, who is also a Queens resident.

Although Almeida lived in East Elmhurst and Astoria, her daughter chose the spot on Northern Boulevard and 75th Street for the co-naming because she said it was her mother’s favorite spot to watch parades, including the Ecuadorian parade that proceeds down Northern Boulevard.

“Everybody remembers that whenever anybody passed by 75th Street, there was mom waving, inviting the community to come,” Velasquez said.

Almeida, who was involved in the organizing of the Ecuadorian parade, was also an active fundraiser for the family’s church and assisted those with mental illness, according to her daughter. CB 3 member David Rosero said Almeida was extremely active in the neighborhood.

“She did a lot of good things for people and is a good example for immigrants who integrate in the community,” he said. There were two members who abstained from the vote, including Vasantrai Gandhi.

While Gandhi said he recognized the work Almeida did for her family and the Ecuadorian community, he emphasized the application for street co-naming did not mention whether Almeida had worked in local government.

“I am very embarrassed not to lend my full support but we are setting a bad precedent,” he said. “It has become almost a routine that every meeting we get a proposal for co-naming one street corner for a person who has not done public service for the city.”

I have known Judge Velasquez, for close to twenty years, before she became a judge and it was truly a great honor and to know Judge Velasquez, all the good she does for the community, and he mother’s name etched in the history books and co-name the corner of Northern Boulevard and 75th Street in honor of Laura Almeida Egas, who immigrated to the United States more than four decades ago and is the mother of a state Supreme Court justice. Almeida passed away in November 2017.

Many Dignitaries were in attendance at the Parade, including Ivonne A-Baki, Ecuador’s ambassador to the United States, who ran for the Presidency of Ecuador, Queens Borough President, Donovan Richards, Francisco Moya, Council Member, Jenifer Rajkumar, Assembly member of District 38. Chairito Cisneros, President, CEO Founder of the New York Hispanic Cosmetology and Beauty Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest chambers of its kind in the USA.

Many Political leaders, from Ecuador, Civil, supreme court judges from New York State, NYPD Leaders, many Hispanic Societies, Labor leaders, Beauty Queens from Ecuador and throughout the USA, Community leaders and thousands and thousands of spectators.

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