"The Puerto Rican Day" is the 176th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. It aired on May 7, 1998, and was the 20th episode of the ninth and final season. It was the show's second-highest-rated episode of all time, with 38.8 million viewers, only behind the series finale. The episode aired one week before the two-part clip show and the two-part series finale aired. Because of controversy surrounding a scene in which Cosmo Kramer accidentally burns and then stomps on the Puerto Rican flag, NBC refused to show it again and it was not initially part of the syndicated package. In the summer of 2002, the episode started to appear with the flag-burning sequence intact. On certain channels, such as TBS, the episode continues not to air.

This episode of Seinfeld has more writer credits (ten) than any other episode. As co-creator Larry David was returning to write the finale, this was the final episode for the active "after Larry David" writing staff and thus was a group effort.

"The Puerto Rican Day" was a rare late season return to a "plot about nothing" style, filmed in real-time, more commonly seen in early seasons (such as "The Chinese Restaurant").

The Puerto Rican Day Parade (also known as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade) takes place annually along Fifth Avenue in New York City, on the second Sunday in June, in honor of the nearly 4 million inhabitants of Puerto Rico and all people of Puerto Rican birth or heritage residing in the mainland U.S. In 2006, more than 80,000 participants marched and nearly 2 million spectators lined the parade route. The parade always attracts many celebrities, both Puerto Rican and of Puerto Rican heritage, and many politicians from the Tri-State area.

The parade marches along Fifth Avenue from 44th Street to 86th Street and has grown to become one of the largest parades in New York City, with nearly three million spectators annually.

The first Puerto Rican Day Parade was held on Sunday, April 13, 1958, in Manhattan, replacing the former Hispanic Day Parade. In 1995, the parade became incorporated as the National Puerto Rican Day Parade and expanded beyond the parade itself. The parade now hosts over seven major events throughout the city. There are dozens of other events that also take place the weekend of the parade that are not sponsored by the National Parade's corporation. In addition to the parade in New York, there are currently over fifty smaller parades that take place throughout the United States.

Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1977), known artistically as Daddy Yankee, is a Latin Grammy Award-winning Puerto Rican reggaeton recording artist. Ayala was born in Río Piedras, the largest district of San Juan, where he became interested in music at a young age. In his youth he was interested in baseball, and aspired to become a Major League Baseball player. He was unable to continue this sport when he received an injury to one of his legs, leaving him unable to walk correctly. He then became involved in the underground rap movement that was in its early stages in Puerto Rico, later to be called reggaeton. After receiving lessons from several artists within the genre, he developed an independent career, first recording in a production titled Playero 37. After this he began to produce independent albums. His first solo album was No Mercy. He subsequently formed a duo with Nicky Jam, and then continued his solo career with the releases of El Cartel and El Cartel II. This led him be one of many pioneers of the reggaeton genre earning him the nickname "El Cangri".