DiMeglio Septic , Inc .
CELEBRATION , from Page 2
“ I want to thank every one of you for being here today . Those of us who are Puerto Ricans , Wepa ! Those of us who are here that are not Puerto Rican I thank you for being here and wepa to you too … I also want to say special thanks to the Jeep Club ‘ Los Fugitivos ,’ Jeep Club ‘ Los Desobedientes ,’ and Jeep Club ‘ Los Tainos .’ For always supporting our club , we really thank you … The motto for the Puerto Rican Civic Association is ‘ Si no vives para server , no sirves para vivir .’ So let ’ s take those words to heart and let ’ s live our lives to serve other people … We thank our leaders in this town of Hammonton for always respecting our Puerto Rican Community and for honoring our culture . As we celebrate our Puerto Rican Festival this year , we ’ re also celebrating 150 years of the foundation of our beautiful town ,” Pagan said .
After the invocation done by the Rev . Steven Pinzon , of St . Mary of Mt . Carmel ’ s Parish , ANTSO Miss Puerto Rico National Teenager Tiffany Silva sang the National Anthem while Deputy Mayor Thomas Gribbin raised the American flag .
Silva was crowned in September 2015 , has more than 1,000 hours of community service , participated in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City on June 12 , 2016 , and is the recipient of the Hispanic Leadership Summit of New Jersey ’ s Rita Moreno Award .
“ I feel honored . They could pick anybody , but they picked me to perform it [ the National Anthem ]. [ Today ] is a day when we can all come out and be ourselves . A day that all of us , Puerto Ricans , come together and appreciate where we come from ,” Silva said .
After Silva ’ s performance , Iraida “ Cookie ” Melendez , a longtime attendee of the event , sang “ La Borinqueña ,” Puerto Rico ’ s national anthem , with guitar accompaniment by her husband , Cristobal “ Mateo ” Melendez , while Gribbin raised the Puerto Rican flag .
“ This is my first time ever [ singing La Borinqueña ]. It ’ s an honor . It [ today ] means where I
Wednesday , August 31 , 2016 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
PRCA flag-raising ceremony opens Puerto Rican Week
come from more than anything in the world . I am here in the United States , and I made my life here , but I never forget my roots ,” Iraida Melendez said .
Gribbin addressed the crowd on behalf of Mayor Stephen DiDonato and town council .
“ I want to thank everyone for coming out and I just like to say that the Puerto Rican community is so vibrant in Hammonton , and we are truly blessed to have such a vibrant Puerto Rican community and also to have the Puerto Rican cultures and traditions so interwoven with the fabric of our town … I know that many of you know that the commonwealth of Puerto Rico was founded as a commonwealth on July 25 , 1952 . That is the day that the flag of Puerto Rico was adopted as the official flag , and we will have this flag fly over town hall all week long for Puerto Rican Week … Have a great Puerto Rican Festival ,” Gribbin said . PRCA Vice President Marilyn Nogue thanked the crowd for attending and the club members for all of the hard work they put in to make the event a reality . After the ceremony , Nogue noted that she learned all about her Puerto Rican culture and roots after becoming a PRCA member .
“ I was born and raised here in Philadelphia . I never knew much about my culture until I became a member of the Puerto Rican Civic Club . My Spanish got better . I learned about the culture . I ’ ve learned what kind of food we eat and the dances like the Plena and the Bomba … Being a member , I ’ ve learned a lot . So , it is an honor to me . I ate the food , I talked it , I danced it but really didn ’ t know the culture . And being in this organization , I have learned a lot . So that ’ s what this means to me here today ,” Nogue said .
You can join on the week ’ s celebrations which will be held at the PRCA ’ s club house , located at 367 Old Forks Road . The event list is as follows :
Wednesday , August 31 : Art Night with Simple Strokes Paint Events , 7 p . m . – 9 p . m ., $ 25 admission .
Friday , September 2 : Folkloric Night with Trio Renacer , DJ Coqui , 5 p . m . – 10 p . m . Saturday , September 3 : Music Variety with Grupo Hipnosis , DJ Coqui , 3 – 11 p . m .
Sunday , September 4 : Celebrate with Grupo Swing D Guille , DJ Coqui , 3 – 10 p . m .
For more information , call Marilyn Nogue at 892-5796 or Lilliam Pagan at 760- 4294 .
Bermudez ’ s quote and the schedule of events were translated from Spanish by the reporter .
DiMeglio Septic , Inc .
Est . 1975 ~ DEP 03261 ~ Paul DiMeglio 1 ( 800 ) 427-4617 ~ 561-1007 ~ 561-3597
491 S . White Horse Pike • Ancora , NJ
• Grease Trap Cleaning • Portable Toilets
• Septic Certifications • Jetting Service
One Sindoni Lane , Suite C , Hammonton ( 609 ) 270-7886 • www . meadowsbridalshop . com
Looking for the perfect gown ?
Stop in our shop to see what ’ s new !
We carry gorgeous dresses by : David Tutera , Casablanca , Mori Lee , and so much more !
Layaway now for Christmas .
Twogether
0 % Financing Available for 12 months . See store for details .
CUSTOM ENGAGEMENT RINGS & WEDDING BANDS REPAIRS COMPLETED ON PREMISES
121 S . White Horse Pike
across from the McDonald ’ s Hammonton • 561-6222