People forced to flee hard-hit Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria were invited to a special celebration in Hartford Saturday.
Joyous songs filled City Hall in Hartford as part of an event called Parranda de Esperanza. The celebration was filled with food, music and fun.
It’s meant to be an escape for people who have endured so much after the devastating hurricane and a reminder of the holiday culture back home.
Parranda is usually when friends go house to house spreading holiday cheer with carols in Puerto Rico. This time the songs were sung to an audience, many of whom have just left that hard-hit island.
"We realized that we were going to have a lot of families here in the state for the first time ever," explained organizer Ana Valentin-Jackson.
It’s estimated hundreds of people fled Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria hit and have settled in Connecticut.
Jorge Torres just arrived in Hartford last week. He tells NBC Connecticut he came here to be with family, after enduring challenging conditions back home.
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Torres was among those attending the event which was organized by members of the CICD Puerto Rican Day Parade.
"We’re all trying to help our families back home and many of us are involved in the hurricane relief efforts up here," Valentin-Jackson said.
So at least for tonight a much needed break and a reminder of the strength of the community.
"It’s great. To see people together and talking about stuff they have been through and everybody come together at the holidays, make a bad time a good time,"said Hartford resident Kristy Alicea.
