# @lissette.nereida on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DZnOOGLEdIf
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/66673853-lissettenereida-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/1b0165e515.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-06-15T16:14:11.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Lissette Pedreiras | 40+ Fashion & Mom Life (@lissette.nereida) — https://gondola.cc/lissette.nereida

## Caption

This weekend I celebrated at the Puerto Rican Day Parade with my daughter, surrounded by flags, music, and thousands of Boricuas proud of where we come from. 🇵🇷

As someone born in Puerto Rico but raised in New Jersey, I often think about what it means to be part of the diaspora. We get to celebrate our culture from afar, teach it to our children, wave our flags proudly, and pass down traditions that connect them to home.

In my 20s, I’ll be honest, I didn’t always pay attention to what was happening on the island. I loved being Puerto Rican, but I didn’t fully understand why staying informed mattered. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that what happens in Puerto Rico affects all of us, even those of us living in the diaspora.

The island isn’t just where our families come from. It’s the root of our culture, our history, our identity.

The last photo is a reminder of that.

While many of us in the diaspora were celebrating Puerto Rican pride this weekend, there are people on the island fighting to protect their livelihoods. Families who have sold fruit and local products on the side of the road for generations are now having to fight to keep doing so.

Sometimes it feels like the Puerto Rico we love is being changed piece by piece. And whether you call it displacement, gentrification, or a new wave of colonization, the reality is that decisions being made today will shape what Puerto Rico looks like for future generations.

Loving Puerto Rico isn’t just about waving a flag at a parade. It’s about caring about what happens when the music stops. It’s about paying attention, asking questions, and understanding that our responsibility to the island doesn’t end because we live somewhere else.

I’ll always celebrate being Puerto Rican. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that loving Puerto Rico also means protecting it.

🇵🇷❤️

#PuertoRicanDayParade #PuertoRicanPride #DiasporaBoricua #PuertoRico #fossilevent BoricuaEnLaDiaspora

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 288
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- **Comments:** 14

## Tags

puertoricandayparade, fossilevent, puertorico, diasporaboricua, puertoricanpride

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