Organizers of the Puerto Rican Day Parade, exasperated by the lack of response from the Daily News over a misogynistic and racist misrepresentation of the cultural event, have pulled all marketing and advertising from the paper.
The outrage is over the Daily News’ use of this photo to represent the parade:
The photo was taken of street entertainers in Times Square who are decorated in Puerto Rican-themed body paint. They are not Puerto Rican. They had no affiliation with the parade, which is characterized by the Daily News as some erotic festival thanks to the caption “Rear view on parade.”
“The continuous misrepresentation, inaccurate information, and lack of dignified coverage has taken us back to the 1950s and promotes discrimination, prejudice, misogyny and hatred,” wrote the Puerto Rican Day Parade, in response earlier this week, demanding a correction and apology. DNAnotes that in 2012, the paper used a Cuban flag to represent the Puerto Rican Parade.
Parade board chair Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez escalated her concerns in a letter to Daily News CEO Bill Holiber:
“The publication of a photo, featuring two topless women wearing G-Strings with Puerto Rico-related slogans painted on their bodies, and an erroneous claim by the newspaper that the image was taken at the Parade on Fifth Avenue has caused major outrage across the Puerto Rican community and beyond,” wrote the parade’s board chair in a letter on Thursday. “As I have repeatedly stated and you have, in fact, confirmed, such image was not taken at the Parade and the featured subjects were not marchers, no did they have any connection with the Parade, whatsoever.”
But they were ignored. So in response to the total lack of response, the organization is cutting ties with the Daily News:
We recognize everyone makes mistakes, and we work with partners who have the strength of character to recognize and correct them; particularly when those mistakes are damaging to families and communities. Since you have opted otherwise, we will no longer partner with the Daily News, now and in the future, until you take corrective action.
(Photo: Rep. Charles Rangel)
