Philadelphia, PA – As the notes of La Borinqueña carried across the Northeast Apron of City Hall on September 25, the Puerto Rican flag began its climb above the crowd.

Below it stood elected officials, students, community leaders, and residents gathered for Philadelphia’s fourth annual Puerto Rican Flag Raising Ceremony.

The ceremony opened with an invocation calling for unity, peace, and healing in Philadelphia and Puerto Rico, followed by remarks from community and city leaders.

The moment was celebratory, but throughout the event, speakers returned to a larger question: What does it mean to carry Puerto Rico with you while living more than a thousand miles from the island?

For Councilmember Quetcy Lozada, that question was part of finding her identity.

Lozada told the crowd about being 16 years old and struggling with her Puerto Rican identity. She resisted speaking Spanish and remembered telling her father that she was American rather than Puerto Rican. The difficult conversation that followed, she said, changed how she understood herself.

“Since that day, when people ask me, ‘Who are you? Where do you come from?’ I don’t qualify it,” Lozada said. “I proudly say, ‘I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in Philadelphia.’”

Years later, standing at City Hall during Hispanic Heritage Month, Lozada connected that pride to responsibility.

“This flag cannot only represent who we are,” she said. “It must also remind us what we owe to one another.”

Her remarks then turned toward Puerto Rico’s water crisis.

“Our familia on the island is suffering through a water crisis that is a moral failure,” Lozada said.

But her message did not stop at naming the crisis. Lozada called on Puerto Ricans on the mainland to use their civic influence, advocate for immigrant communities, and push for accountability over decisions affecting the island.

“Our duty extends beyond our borders,” she said.

Lozada also called for Puerto Ricans to have a greater say in the island’s future.

“The time has come to demand true self-determination for Puerto Rico, and to hold our government accountable for the decisions that dictate the lives of our families on the island,” she said.

Her message to Puerto Ricans living outside the island was even more direct: “To the diaspora: Use your influence.”

Hilrett Walker, Interim CEO of Concilio, carried that sense of responsibility into her own remarks. She spoke about the history, family, art, music, traditions, and resilience of generations of Puerto Ricans who built lives in Philadelphia while maintaining ties to the island.

Hilrett told the crowd that connection to Puerto Rico could not exist only in moments of celebration before leading attendees in the phrase, “Sin agua, no hay vida.”

City Council President Kenyatta Johnson also addressed the gathering, noting that it was his third time participating in the flag raising and reaffirming his support for Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community.

Frankford High School’s Junior ROTC Pioneer Color Guard participated in the ceremony, while vocalist Nina Dilet Rodriguez performed the U.S. national anthem and later La Borinqueña as the flag was raised.

Toward the end of the ceremony, local leaders Rafael Febo, Julia Rivera, Adamary Sosa, Roberto Rios, Diana Quinones, Christian Crespo, Tatiana Villa, Damaris Feliciano, Rey Velez, and Amy Eusebio were recognized for their service and contributions to Philadelphia’s Puerto Rican community.

For many Puerto Ricans in Philadelphia, home does not begin and end at the city limits. It stretches between neighborhoods, generations, language, and an island that remains present even from afar.

As the flag climbed above City Hall, that connection became visible. Pride filled the ceremony, but so did a challenge: not only to remember Puerto Rico, but to decide what staying connected asks of those who carry it with them.