Rita Moreno dances with New York cardinal at Puerto Rican Day Parade up Fifth Avenue

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Entertainer Rita Moreno took Roman Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan for a dancing spin Sunday in the middle of Fifth Avenue by St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

“Hallelujah! Bienvenidos a todos,” the cardinal yelled out to the Puerto Rican Day Parade crowd, meaning “welcome to all.”

At 83, atop a convertible car, Moreno was the grand marshal of the festivities that turned more than 1 million spectators into a sea of red, white and blue. Topped by a single star, they’re the colours of the Puerto Rican flag that also were splashed across 20,000 marchers moving up the avenue from 44th Street to 79th Street.

Puerto Rico’s governor, Alejandro Garcia Padilla, was followed by New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, a Puerto Rico native dancing to the pounding Latino soundtrack of the 58th annual parade.

Dolan, who is archbishop of the city’s Roman Catholic archdiocese, offered blessings to the mostly Catholic participants. Dolan then lifted his straw hat to reveal a red skullcap he plopped onto the heads of several bemused boys.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio walked all 35 blocks up Fifth, noting “the extraordinary contribution to this city by the Puerto Rican people. This is a community that over the last century has been one of the foundations of this city.”