Forget Puerto Ricans, Pride is Better...

June Spotlight – Is the Media Overlooking Puerto Ricans in Favor of Pride Month?

Every June, the media landscape transforms into a vibrant celebration of Pride Month, a time dedicated to honoring the LGBTQ+ community’s fight for equality and visibility. Rainbow flags, parades, and stories of queer resilience dominate headlines, social media feeds, and corporate campaigns. However, this intense focus often overshadows another significant cultural event in June: the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and the broader recognition of Puerto Rican heritage. Some argue that this imbalance reflects a broader attempt to sideline Puerto Rican stories, effectively diminishing their cultural presence in favor of Pride Month’s global momentum. Let’s explore this dynamic, the media’s role, and what it means for both communities.

The Media’s June Obsession: Pride Month Takes Center Stage

June has become synonymous with Pride Month, a global movement that commemorates the 1969 Stonewall Riots and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. The media’s coverage of Pride is extensive, and for good reason—it’s a time to celebrate progress, highlight ongoing struggles, and amplify marginalized voices within the queer community. In recent years, major outlets like NPR and The Washington Post have dedicated significant resources to Pride, covering everything from parade updates to the political and social challenges faced by LGBTQ+ individuals. Corporate brands, too, jump on the bandwagon, with companies like Target and Bud Light historically rolling out Pride-themed merchandise, though not without controversy, as seen in 2023 when Target pulled some LGBTQ+ items after backlash.

In Puerto Rico, Pride Month is a major event, with the island hosting multiple celebrations, including the San Juan Pride Parade, which draws thousands to the streets of Condado. The parade, which began in 1990 as a response to the AIDS epidemic and police persecution, has grown into a powerful symbol of resistance and joy, often culminating at Parque del Tercer Milenio with performances and rallies. Other events, like Boquerón Pride in Cabo Rojo and Rincón Pride, further cement Puerto Rico’s status as the “LGBTQIA capital of the Caribbean,” as noted by travel platforms like misterb&b. The media, both local and international, often highlights these events, framing Puerto Rico as a progressive haven for queer travelers and residents.

However, this focus on Pride can sometimes eclipse other cultural narratives, particularly those tied to Puerto Rican identity. The National Puerto Rican Day Parade, held annually on the second Sunday of June along Fifth Avenue in New York City, is one of the largest demonstrations of ethnic pride in the U.S., attracting nearly four million spectators by 2007. It celebrates the 3.2 million inhabitants of Puerto Rico and the millions of Puerto Ricans living on the mainland, showcasing their contributions to culture, politics, and society. Yet, despite its scale and significance, the parade often receives less consistent media attention compared to Pride events, especially in years when controversies or major Pride milestones dominate the news cycle.

Puerto Rican Stories: A Struggle for Visibility

The media’s coverage of Puerto Rican issues in June often feels sporadic, tied to moments of crisis rather than sustained cultural celebration. As noted in a 2020 panel discussion hosted by the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, mainstream U.S. media tends to focus on Puerto Rico “only when natural disaster strikes or when there is a massive protest.” This was evident during Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the 2019 protests that led to Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s resignation, where outlets like NBC News and the Washington Post provided in-depth reporting. However, the panel highlighted a lack of attention to “slow-building, quiet emergencies,” such as the island’s ongoing mental health crisis or economic struggles, which are often overshadowed by more sensational stories.

In June, this pattern becomes even more pronounced. While Pride Month garners widespread, celebratory coverage, the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and other Puerto Rican cultural events often struggle to break through the noise. For instance, in 2017, the parade faced significant media scrutiny—not for its cultural significance, but for its controversial decision to honor Oscar López Rivera, a figure seen by some as a freedom fighter and by others as a terrorist. Sponsors like Goya Foods and JetBlue pulled out, and the story dominated headlines, overshadowing the parade’s broader message of Puerto Rican pride and unity. Similarly, in 2010, the parade’s selection of telenovela actor Osvaldo Ríos as “International Godfather” sparked backlash due to his past domestic violence conviction, leading to withdrawals by figures like U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez and corporate sponsors like Verizon. These controversies, while newsworthy, often frame Puerto Rican events in a negative light, rather than celebrating the community’s achievements.

Meanwhile, Pride Month’s coverage tends to be more uniformly positive, focusing on joy, resilience, and progress. In Puerto Rico, the intersection of Pride and Puerto Rican identity is significant—LGBTQ+ Puerto Ricans have been at the forefront of activism, from the first Pride march in 1990 to the fight against hate crimes, which remain a pressing issue. The island has the highest hate crime rate in the U.S., with six of the 44 transgender and gender non-conforming people killed in the U.S. in 2020 being Puerto Rican, according to the Washington Blade. Yet, even this intersection often gets framed through the lens of Pride, rather than as a broader Puerto Rican story. The media’s focus on Pride can inadvertently marginalize other aspects of Puerto Rican identity, creating a narrative where one community’s visibility comes at the expense of another’s.

An Attempt to Forget Puerto Ricans?

Some critics argue that the media’s disproportionate focus on Pride Month reflects a broader attempt to “forget” Puerto Ricans, prioritizing a global, mainstream movement over a specific ethnic group’s cultural narrative. This perspective is rooted in the historical marginalization of Puerto Ricans within the U.S. As a colonial territory, Puerto Rico’s relationship with the mainland is fraught with systemic inequities, from economic exploitation to political disenfranchisement. Carla Minet, executive director of the San Juan-based Center of Investigative Journalism, noted during the CUNY panel that U.S. journalists often “try to go around and ignore” the colonial relationship, which shapes every story about the island. This avoidance can lead to superficial coverage that fails to capture the depth of Puerto Rican experiences, especially during a month when cultural pride should be front and center.

The media’s framing of Puerto Rican stories also reveals a linguistic and cultural disconnect. Minet pointed out that U.S.-based publications rarely use the term “colony” to describe Puerto Rico, despite its common usage among Puerto Ricans, because the word isn’t part of the mainland’s everyday vocabulary. Similarly, journalists often misuse terms like “emigrate” to describe Puerto Ricans moving to the mainland, ignoring their status as U.S. citizens. These missteps reflect a broader lack of cultural fluency, which can make Puerto Rican stories feel less accessible or relatable to a mainstream audience—potentially contributing to their underrepresentation in June’s media landscape.

In contrast, Pride Month’s narrative is more universally understood and marketable. The rainbow flag, the history of Stonewall, and the fight for marriage equality are familiar touchstones that resonate globally, making Pride an easier story for media outlets to tell and for corporations to monetize. This accessibility can lead to a kind of cultural erasure, where Puerto Rican voices are drowned out by the louder, more commercially viable Pride narrative. For Puerto Ricans, this can feel like a deliberate attempt to sideline their identity, especially in a month that should also be theirs to claim.

A Call for Balance: Celebrating Both Identities

The tension between Pride Month and Puerto Rican cultural events in June doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Both celebrations are vital, and both communities deserve visibility. LGBTQ+ Puerto Ricans, in particular, embody the intersection of these identities, showing how they can coexist and even amplify each other. Figures like Pedro Peters Maldonado, the first openly gay politician elected in Puerto Rico in 2012, and activists like Silvia Rivera, a Puerto Rican trans woman who played a key role in the Stonewall Riots, highlight the deep ties between Puerto Rican and queer histories.

The media can play a crucial role in bridging this gap by adopting a more balanced approach. Instead of focusing solely on Pride parades or Puerto Rican controversies, outlets could explore stories that weave both narratives together—like the role of LGBTQ+ Puerto Ricans in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, or how Pride events in San Juan incorporate Puerto Rican cultural elements, such as bomba y plena music and traditional foods like guava and cheese combos. Highlighting these intersections would not only give Puerto Ricans their due in June but also enrich the Pride narrative by showcasing its diversity.

Moreover, journalists need to move beyond crisis-driven coverage of Puerto Rico. The island’s cultural contributions—its music, art, cuisine, and resilience—deserve to be celebrated year-round, but especially in June, when Puerto Rican pride is on full display. By providing context and history, as Minet suggested, reporters can create more nuanced stories that resonate with both Puerto Rican and non-Puerto Rican audiences. This might mean dedicating airtime to the National Puerto Rican Day Parade’s history, its impact on the diaspora, and its role in empowering the community, rather than only covering it when controversy strikes.

Conclusion: A Shared Spotlight

The media’s focus on Pride Month in June is understandable—it’s a global movement with a clear, compelling narrative that resonates widely. But this focus shouldn’t come at the expense of Puerto Rican stories, which are equally deserving of attention. The National Puerto Rican Day Parade and the broader celebration of Puerto Rican heritage are not just events; they’re affirmations of identity, resilience, and cultural pride for millions of people. By overshadowing these stories, the media risks perpetuating a form of cultural erasure, making it seem as though Puerto Rican voices matter less than those of the LGBTQ+ community.

A more equitable approach is possible—one that celebrates both Pride Month and Puerto Rican heritage, recognizing their shared values of resistance, community, and joy. For Puerto Ricans, especially those who are also part of the LGBTQ+ community, June should be a time to shine in all their complexity. It’s up to the media to ensure that no one’s light is dimmed in the process.