BROWNSVILLE — Many people who attended the 17th annual Fourth of July Parade in Downtown Brownsville wore red, white and blue with big smiles on their faces as they saw the floats pass by.
Sponsored by The Brownsville Herald, the local newspaper celebrated the country’s independence and serving the City of Brownsville for 125 years.
The newspaper was deliberately launched July 4, 1892, as a way of celebrating the United States and the City of Brownsville.
Organizations such as the Gladys Porter Zoo, Knights of Columbus, Female Veterans United and the Office of Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz participated in the parade.
There are some residents like Amparo Burnias, who has seen the parade every year as a way to celebrate Independence Day and show support to her husband Ramiro Burnias, who served in the U.S. Air Force during the 1960s.
“I like (that the parade) is very patriotic. There’s lots of flags, (and) we are here to support our veterans and all our military, our country (and) our servicemen,” Amparo said.
Minnie Hernandez has attended the Fourth of July parade the past two years. Hernandez said events like the parade remind members of the community the United States is their home.
“We need to be proud, and support our soldiers and our veterans (and) everybody,” Hernandez said.
Ramiro, who is also the First Vice Commander of the American Legion, was a sergeant when he was serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.
He joined the military because his two older brothers already were serving in the Air Force.
“We thank our fellow veterans for their service and also our active military personnel,” Ramiro said. “We’re celebrating our independence because of the freedom we have. It’s sometimes very enjoyable and helpful to feel that … we contributed to the community by coming out in the parade and doing other things.”
