MERIDEN — The city’s 49th annual Puerto Rican Festival was not only a celebration of food, music and culture, but a day of recognition.

Platt’s state championship girls volleyball team, a local boy done good and a representative of Meriden’s Muslim community shared space with the singers and musicians at the Hubbard Park bandshell Sunday afternoon.

The festival was as much about community spirit as Puerto Rican pride.

The festival started with a prayer from Dr. Hafeez Rehman, national spokesman for The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, USA’s Spanish desk.

“God is the same God of the Christians, of the Hindus, of the Jewish people, of all faiths,” he said. “All the source of religious knowledge is from the same God. That’s why we have so many commonalities and very little differences. The problem is people pay attention to the differences and don’t pay attention to the commonality.”

Rehman, a physician in Albany, New York, spoke in Spanish on behalf of the Baitul Aman mosque in South Meriden, which was hit with bullets not long after terrorist attacks rocked Paris on Nov. 13.

“This is love for all, hate for none in action — not just words,” said Zahir Mannan, spokesman for the South Meriden mosque.

Festival chairman Hector Cardona Sr. said inclusivity is a necessary part of the event.

“It doesn’t matter what religion you are,” he said. “What better group to have than the mosque? They went through a lot in the last year. They’re part of our community. We want to work together. This festival is for everybody. I know my culture, but maybe you don’t know my culture. Everyone is welcome. We have to continue the tradition of bringing people together.”

The festival drew an estimated 5,000 people and featured Puerto Rican delicacies, a cultural tent, bounce houses, food trucks and eight musical groups and singers, including headliner Odilio Gonzalez.

“We were blessed with the weather,” Cardona said. “The… read more at myrecordjournal.com