This past Friday, Keylatch marched in the opening parade to the Festival Betances. Keylatch took part in the Iquilinos Boricuas en Accion’s (IBA) annual parade to commemorate Puerto Rican doctor and activist Ramón Emeterio Betances. The festival is the largest celebration of Latino culture in New England.During the parade, Keylatch campers and counselors donned their blue shirts emblazoned with the core values of motivation, team, innovation, vision, influence, and strategy. Along the parade route, campers could be heard yelling, “Everywhere we go! People want to know! Who we are! So we  tell them! We are Keylatch! Mighty, mighty Keylatch!”

Everywhere we go! People want to know! Who we are! So we  tell them! We are Keylatch! Mighty, mighty Keylatch!

All along the route, bystanders joined in Keylatch’s catchy chant. Of Keylatch’s participation in the parade, director Diana Acosta says, “It is a space for the kids to demonstrate their camp pride in addition to showing they are important members of their communities and sharing that pride with their families and counselors.” She continues that Betances is a time, “in which all recognize that all of our personal narratives matter and that we can be festive and loud about it.”