{"id":289833,"date":"2026-09-19T19:36:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-19T19:36:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/289833\/"},"modified":"2026-09-19T19:36:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-19T19:36:15","slug":"palo-magazine-presents-el-boricuazo-2026-a-celebration-of-puerto-rican-culture-in-berks-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/289833\/","title":{"rendered":"Palo Magazine Presents El Boricuazo 2026: A Celebration of Puerto Rican Culture in Berks County"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Palo Magazine<\/p>\n

Palo Magazine will present the second annual\u00a0El Boricuazo 2026\u00a0on\u00a0Saturday, Sept. 19, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.,\u00a0at\u00a0GoggleWorks Center for the Arts \u2013 Thorn Alley,\u00a0201 Washington St., Reading, PA.<\/p>\n

Held during Hispanic Heritage Month, El Boricuazo is more than a festival. It was created to\u00a0preserve Puerto Rican culture and traditions while allowing younger generations to experience and celebrate their roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cPuerto Rican culture is an important part of the history and identity of our Latino community here in Berks County,\u201d said\u00a0Rosa Julia Parra, founder and CEO of Palo Magazine and creator of El Boricuazo. \u201cAs generations grow up away from the island, some of our traditions can slowly disappear. I want our children to hear our music, taste our food, understand our traditions, and feel proud of where they come from. For one day, we are bringing a little piece of Puerto Rico to Reading.\u201d<\/p>\n

A taste, sound, and feel of Puerto Rico<\/p>\n

El Boricuazo 2026 will feature live Puerto Rican music, cultural performances, dancing, traditional foods, artists, vendors, family activities, and cultural displays.<\/p>\n

Entertainment will include\u00a0Los Bomberos de la Calle, a Philadelphia-based bomba and plena group led by Anthony M\u00e9ndez;\u00a0Pasi\u00f3n Tropical; Azotando el Mambo; Saulo Negr\u00f3n and Cantar Campesino; and DJ Poli, along with WH Dance Academy cultural dancers and additional entertainment.<\/p>\n

Guests will experience Puerto Rican traditions ranging from\u00a0bomba, plena, and m\u00fasica j\u00edbara\u00a0to island favorites including\u00a0alcapurrias, arroz con pernil, bacala\u00edtos, pastelillos, traditional breads and sweets, piraguas, and Puerto Rican coffee. The event will also feature a\u00a0domino area, Puerto Rican art, cultural displays, vendors, and children\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n

More than a festival \u2014 it\u2019s cultural preservation<\/p>\n

\u201cEl Boricuazo is our way of saying: this is who we are, this is where we come from, and these traditions deserve to continue,\u201d Parra said. \u201cWe want our children to know the sounds of the coqu\u00ed, understand our music, recognize our food, and feel proud of their roots.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inaugural El Boricuazo was held in 2025 and welcomed around\u00a0500 attendees. Following the community\u2019s response, Palo Magazine expanded the celebration for 2026 and moved it to GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.<\/p>\n

El Boricuazo 2026 is presented by\u00a0Palo Magazine, with the support of sponsors and community partners, including title sponsor, Reading Hospital \u2013 Tower Health, and additional sponsors, Finanta, GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, Customers Bank, COCA, Reading Musical Foundation, United Insurance, Reading Furniture & Decor, Kuhn Funeral Home, City of Reading and Mayor Eddie Moran, iHeartRadio Rumba and RMF, along with additional community vendor supporters.<\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"About Palo Magazine<\/p>\n

Founded in 2010 by Rosa Julia Parra,\u00a0Palo Magazine\u00a0is a bilingual English-Spanish publication serving Berks County and surrounding communities. For more than 16 years, Palo Magazine has highlighted local businesses, community leaders, organizations, culture, and stories through its print and digital platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery palo has a story.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Palo Magazine Palo Magazine will present the second annual\u00a0El Boricuazo 2026\u00a0on\u00a0Saturday, Sept. 19, from 1 p.m. to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-289833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}