Hurricane Maria has given this year's Puerto Rican Day Parade a new significance

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in New York on Sunday for the annual Puerto Rican Day Parade, a massive celebration of Puerto Rico's culture and history.

This year, the parade's festivities were colored by Puerto Rico's continued struggle in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which upturned the island nearly nine months ago.

The Category 4 hurricane caused more than $90 million in damage, and around 5% of the island is still without power. According to a recently released Harvard study, the storm was responsible for more than 4,600 deaths, over 70 times the official death toll.

The tragedy was a focus of the parade, and activists donned T-shirts and carried signs highlighting the number of deaths.

Government agencies such as FEMA have been criticized for lagging in their response to the devastation. And many Americans don't realize that Puerto Rico qualifies for the same type of aid as other states: Fewer than half of Americans know that Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll.

More: Puerto Rico to release storm death data after court ruling

So for many activists, the parade was an opportunity to raise awareness of Puerto Rico's plight in addition to celebrating its heritage. Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, marched in solidarity with the teachers union in Puerto Rico, which joined the national organization just before the hurricane struck.

"We had a front seat watching the lack of action and the basic inhumanity and the basic refusal to help by the federal government in Puerto Rico for all these months," she said.

Esai Morales, a Brooklyn-born actor of Puerto Rican descent, led the parade as it wound its way down Fifth Avenue. He also saw the day's events as celebration mixed with remembrance.

"My passion and my pride is very much connected to that tiny little island with a big heart, which did not receive the kind of support that we have hoped would be sufficient. Nonetheless, it did get the world's attention," Morales told NBC News. "I just offer my respect, my condolences to the thousands of uncounted that died, as a result of the inability to provide basic services, and my heart goes to their families."

The parade's theme this year was "Un Pueblo, Muchas Voces," or "One Nation, Many Voices," and is meant to highlight diverse thought and art across Puerto Rico. Among the parade's many honorees were singer Lucecita Benitez, former MLB player Carlos Beltran and historian Virginia Sánchez Korrol.

For the supporters and participants who began gathering along the parade route Sunday morning, Puerto Rican pride was out in full force.

"The atmosphere is both fun and determined," Weingarten said. "It has a sense of determination and solidarity and defiance as well as the normal parade spirit."

Crystal Soto, who teaches third and fourth grade at the Children's Workshop School, had been hoping for several years to attend the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Her father was born in Puerto Rico and still spends every winter there.

"I felt so empowered," Soto said after marching on Sunday. "I had so much fun; the energy off of all of those people was so amazing, both the crowd and those people walking."

Big-name politicians were a part of Sunday's festivities as well: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was joined by first responders and teachers as he marched along the parade route. And both senators from New York made appearances: Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Senate's minority leader, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, considered a potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.

Cox Media Group