Thousands of people were in Yonkers on Sunday to enjoy the Puerto Rican Hispanic Day Parade and Festival.

The event is a 40-year tradition made possible by the Yonkers Hispanic Cultural Foundation.

"We put our heart into this, and we want the City of Yonkers to understand that we are here for the whole Latin community," said the foundation's Anthony Quinones.

People at the event told News 12 that the event was an important gathering for many communities.

"I'm very proud of being here because I'm Puerto Rican and I'm Black. I can speak Spanish. I'm proud of my family and I love my family very much,” said resident Savannah Virola.

"The Puerto Rican community were put in jail for raising their flag. So it's so important for us to remind the world and here in the United States, we fought for your right to raise the flag. So it's important for me, for the Hispanic community to raise their flag in unison," said the foundation's Luis Muniz.