East Los Angeles Mexican Independence Day Parade draws thousands

EAST LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KABC) -- Thousands attended the 69th Annual East Los Angeles Mexican Independence Day Parade on Sunday, and Los Angeles Galaxy and Mexican national team forward Giovani dos Santos served as the grand marshal.

"I'm proud to be here with all my Mexican community," Dos Santos said. "It's a very happy day for me."

ABC7 was proud to broadcast all of the colorful sights and sounds. Vista L.A.'s own Patricia Lopez served as La Madrina, and ABC7's Marc Brown and Alysha Del Valle were part of the parade.

"It's the longest-running parade, it's the oldest parade, it's the biggest parade, and I get to be the godmother of it so we're making history here. It's absolutely a privilege," Lopez said.

The parade ran along Cesar E. Chavez Avenue from Mednik Avenue to Gage Avenue, through the heart of East L.A. The Grand Festival at Belvedere Park followed the parade's conclusion.

The parade was organized by the Comite Mexicano Civico Patriotico, a nonprofit organization dedicated to maintaining Mexican traditions, and the Mexican Consulate of L.A.

"Being Mexican-American myself, I think it's really important to the community just to show that the culture and our love for our background still continues to live here in L.A.," event producer Ashley Sanchez said.

City News Service contributed to this report.