Local News

Hispanic Week parade pays tribute to missing soldier

By Yadira Betances , Staff Writer
Eagle-Tribune
Published: June 18, 2007

LAWRENCE | Only a day after the U.S. military announced it found the ID card of Alex Jimenez, the fate of the missing Lawrence soldier weighed heavily on the minds of those participating yesterday in the 29th annual Hispanic Week parade.

The 25-year-old Lawrence resident and another soldier, 19-year-old Pvt. Byron Fouty of Michigan, have been missing in Iraq since May 12 when their unit was ambushed.

A dozen members of Juventud Semana Hispana led the procession down city streets with a banner that read, "Pray for our 'Brave Hero' Spc. Alex Jimenez."

The youngsters were followed by parade marshals Angel Corado and Leonor Sanchez, and city dignitaries, all of whom had a yellow ribbon pinned to their lapels as a symbol of their hope for Jimenez's safe return.

The parade started in the parking lot of Polartec, traveled up Broadway and wound its way along Haverhill Street before ending at Campagnone Common, where the opening ceremony began with a moment of silence for Jimenez led by Francisco Urena, Lawrence's director of veterans services.

But along the parade route, the thumping sounds of music from cars, including merengue and salsa, sparked the crowd. They showed their support by waving small flags of their native countries and applauding.

Stephanie Munoz, the newly crowned Miss Hispanic Week, wore a white beaded gown with a tiara.

She was one of several beauty queens who proudly rode down the street in convertibles representing the different nations that make up Lawrence's Hispanic community. Luis Oppenheimer of Lawrence drove his 1978 yellow Corvette convertible as he has done for the past several years.

Samantha Abel, 15, representing Haiti, rode on the back of a blue Mustang.

"I've waited for this for a long time," said Samantha, who just finished her sophomore year at Notre Dame High School. "There are not a lot of Haitians here, and I wanted to show people about us. It felt good to see people happy and excited as we drove by."

Members of the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence rode on the back of a flatbed truck waving flags from the United States, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The truck was decorated with palm trees and musical instruments.