Julio Espinoza will be the grand marshal for the third-annual Hispanic Heritage Parade, which will be held in downtown Patchogue on Sunday, May 19 at noon.

The parade will also celebrate Suffolk County deputy police commissioner Belinda Alvarez-Groneman and Aqui y Alla co-founder Mauricio Ramon.

Espinoza, 70, is believed to be the first Ecuadorian to settle in Patchogue. He assisted others from Ecuador to find their footing here, according to parade organizer and village trustee Lizbeth Carrillo.

As with the first two parades, this year’s parade will feature floats and marchers from various businesses and organizations and celebrate Latino culture through music and dance.

But it’s also a celebration for the entire Patchogue community, Carrillo said.

The parade has become one of Patchogue’s most popular events. Last year, it drew an estimated crowd of about 3,000 people.

It’s the first time the parade will be held in May, after the first two were held in the fall and had to be rescheduled numerous times because of bad weather. The changing dates made it difficult for small-business owners to participate, Carrillo said, which is why the event was changed to May. The plan is to hold future parades in May as well, Carrillo said.

Espinoza, this year’s grand marshal, emigrated to the U.S. in 1981 and lived briefly in Bay Shore before moving to Patchogue in 1982, where he found work.

At the time, Espinoza would have to travel to Queens to send letters to his family in Ecuador. He eventually decided to open a business in Patchogue where people could send letters to South America. Over the years, the business grew to include phone calls and later, video calls.

In his more than 40 years living in Patchogue, Espinoza, who is now retired and living in Ecuador, helped many people stay connected to their relatives back home and also helped newly arrived Ecuadorians get established in Patchogue.

“He’s always been there for the Latino community,” Carrillo said.

“It’s an honor to be chosen as grand marshal,” Espinoza said through his son Julio Jr., who acted as interpreter. “I love Patchogue with all my heart. Even though I’m away, my heart is always here.”

Alvarez-Groneman, who is this year’s honoree, joined the Suffolk County Police Department in 1981 as a community service aide and became a police officer four years later, rising to the rank of detective and becoming the first Latina to serve on the police commissioner’s staff as a special assistant.

After she retired as a detective, Alvarez-Groneman worked on the staff of then-congressman Lee Zeldin during his first term, where she worked on immigration and law enforcement, among other issues.

She has also been active in a host of organizations, including chairing the Suffolk County executive’s Advisory Board and the Suffolk County executive’s Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration.

Ramon, who is this year’s ambassador, co-founded the Aqui y Alla program, which connects Patchogue’s Ecuadorian community with family and friends in Ecuador.

Among his other civic activities, Ramon was also active in the Lucero de America Foundation, where he was vice president.

The parade is sponsored by the Equal Opportunity Council and the Greater Patchogue Foundation.