The parade might officially start rolling at noon, but it all begins earlier than that with residents rolling coolers and strollers toward Colt Park, Bushnell Park, and Main Street. After a few hours of near silence following the evening activities along Park Street, an air horn sounds at 9 in the morning. An SUV speeds down a side street, with a young man standing up, his upper body sticking through the sun roof. The large bandera crackles against the air. It’ll be hours before the horns and revving engines become a constant background noise in the neighborhood again.

Police enforcement has to be about picking battles. Unless there is enough of a tax base to support something beyond that, it’s simply the way it must be. So while the parade was in action, the people were largely allowed to govern themselves/ourselves.

There were no riots.

Civilization did not break down.

The crowds significantly narrowed the path for the actual parade, stepping back now and then without needing to be told as much.

On Saturday, the police had to split their attention between multiple venues.

On Sunday, the parade was the big draw, but that only meant that crowds gathered in locations Downtown and around Colt Park, in addition to the ongoing cruising in Frog Hollow. With action spread out, it’s hard to know exactly which police activity was connected to this weekend’s parade, but a few safe guesses — looking at addresses and reasons for arrests — amounts to approximately 15 adults taken in between roughly 5 am and 11 pm. Four of those arrests were in part because of pocket bikes being operated. Most arrests were traffic related — operating without a license, reckless driving, riding a motorcycle without face protection — or things like disorderly conduct or interfering with police.

Those arrests were generally not near the actual parade or festival, both of which are billed as family events. These incidents took place south of Colt Park on Wethersfield Avenue, Park Street, Lawrence Street, and Affleck Street, primarily; a few others were arrested on Maple Avenue, Capitol Avenue, and Broad Street.

The arrest log does not reflect juvenile arrests.

Judging from the sound of it, fireworks are either passé or, so far, extremely hard to get this year. The noise and other disturbances seemed subdued when compared to other years.

A prisoner transport van was parked near Bushnell Park during the Festival del Coqui.

The Hartford Police Department made itself plenty visible in Frog Hollow. As happens each year, sawhorses are dropped on various streets to help with traffic control. Just before 11 pm, enforcement steps up and the streets go quiet again, save for the occasional blast of a horn.

Meanwhile, as traffic got routed back to the highway, Bushnell Park got cleaned in the dark. The music festival ended hours before, but even with dozens of trash cans available, the amount of garbage on the ground required more than just one guy with a rake. If you see trash remaining in the park today, consider how well you would be able to clean up cans, paper plates, and food scraps after thousands of people, without the benefit of good lighting.

The mess and arrests are not the story, however. No matter how much some people want that to always be the story with the Puerto Rican (June) and West Indian (August) Day Parades.

The thousands of people who walked from their homes or drove in from neighboring towns and states were generally peaceful. Cheering loudly, but generally peaceful.

While some restaurants in Downtown did not break from their tradition of remaining closed on Sundays, those selling food did well, whether it was barbecued meat, guava-filled pastries, or Italian Ice.

The parade itself had been criticized in years past for elements that were inappropriate for children, namely provocative dancing and song lyrics. It has not become sanitized, but the message that this is a family event has been received.

Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman waves to admirers of her political career and her shoes.

Mayor Segarra nearly pauses after zigzagging along Main Street.

Many brought their dogs along, but not everyone was lucky enough to carry a puppy.

Vejigantes, one of the parade highlights.

Dancing, while marching, is harder than it looks.

The Peacebuilders and elders with Day-Break received especially loud applause from the crowd.

Bulkeley and Burns showed up.

Cars, jeeps, and motorcycles were popular, as always.

This is what Main Street looked like, about halfway through the parade.

Just one of the many vendors in the park

Being prepared means not having to wait in long lines for lunch.