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Fifth Avenue will be sizzling with the sounds of salsa Sunday at the 51st Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade.

More than two million spectators are expected to take in the festivities, which celebrate the history and culture of Puerto Rico. In a testament to its popularity, the spectacle annually receives the highest local Nielsen ratings for stations in the New York area when it is televised for three hours on local channel FOX 5 with afternoon coverage on WOR Channel 9.

Pop singer Kat De Luna and Reggaeton group Xtreme are slated to perform at this year’s parade.

The parade begins at 11 a.m. Sunday and makes its way up Fifth Avenue, from 44th Street to 86th Street.

Union leader Dennis Rivera has been chosen as this year’s grand marshal.

The first New York Puerto Rican Day Parade was held in Spanish Harlem in Manhattan in 1958, and from its humble beginnings grew to reflect not only a growing number of New York-born residents of Puerto Rican descent, but an increased awareness of Puerto Rican roots, culture, and tradition.

The Bronx celebrated their 20th P.R. Day parade last month.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

STARTS: Fifth Ave. at 44th St., 10 a.m.

ENDS: Fifth Ave. at 86th St.

TV: Ch. 5, Ch. 9

RADIO: Radio Wado and La Kalle

REVIEWING STAND: 70th St. and Fifth Ave.

WEATHER: Highs in the 80s, no rain — according to forecast.

STARS TO WATCH FOR: ‘La Kalle’ host Luis Jiménez, Wisín & Yandel, Don Omar, Eddie Palmieri, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Elvis Crespo, Luis Fonsi, N’Klabe, Frankie Negrón, Michael Stuart, Miguelito

SATURDAY: Festival circuit

Puerto Rican music is not just about salsa, of course. Prodigio Claudio, a maestro of the cuatro, the island’s traditional 10-string guitar, will be performing at the Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture together with another big name of Puerto Rican traditional music, Victoria Sanabria, known as “Goddess of the Trova,” the island’s form of improvised musical verse.

No kidding with that “Goddess” title — the lady used to improvise on the 5 o’clock news and was the first woman to win the hard-fought Bacardi trova contest. The concert is at 7 p.m., tickets are $15.

There will be a frenzy of knocking tiles at LQ nightclub, where a domino tournament will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. It’s on Lexington Ave. between 47th and 48th Sts.

Get out the dancing shoes again for Saturday’s Brooklyn Musical Festival, from noon to 7 p.m. at McCarren Park in Williamsburg. There will be a dance contest, music by salseros N’Klabe and Zon del Barrio, and bachata with Xtreme.

Speaking of El Barrio, the neighborhood’s traditional pre-parade fiesta will take place, as usual, along 116th St. as well as down Third Ave. through 106th St. Among the performers: Sergio George’s DLG, Ronny Mercedes and Lumidee.

SUNDAY: The Big Day

After all that heavy partying, put on your sunscreen, grab your single-starred red, white and blue bandera, and cheer on your favorite performers and marchers, sharing the big Boricua spirit at the National Puerto Rican Day Parade along Fifth Ave.

Source: NY Daily News, NY1