Salvadoran band marches in Rose Parade
Banda El Salvador marched in the 2013 Rose Parade on New Years Day. You watch this video as they pass by. The Salvadoran band had appeared once before in the Rose Parade in 2008.
The band's performance in the parade is a great story. From Southern California Public Radio:
The 147 high school age musicians in Banda El Salvador traveled four days by bus from their Central American homes to take part in today’s Rose Parade.
It’s been a learning experience for them and for the Southland residents helping them out during their stay.
There are more Salvadoran immigrants in Southern California than anywhere else in the United States. Hundreds of them filled Duarte High School’s football stadium on Sunday for two concerts by Banda El Salvador.
The campus has become the band’s home, literally. Money for flights and hotels didn’t materialize. So 147 teens are sleeping and showering in the high school gym and taking their meals in a large, very drafty vinyl tent. At 8:30 on Monday morning the grill’s fired up, greased, and serving hungry teens.....
The band’s trip to march in the Rose Parade has also led to emotional reunions with family they’ve not seen in years.
Twenty-year-old clarinet player Nelson Hernandez saw his older brother for the first time since he came to the US to study and work 12 years ago.
“It was perhaps one of the most beautiful experiences in my life,” he said.
Hernandez says his brother is more like a father to him because he sent money to pay for Hernandez’s college tuition.
Andres Trigueros plays saxophone. His father left El Salvador 14 years ago to look for work in Los Angeles. This trip’s only the second time he’s seen him since.
“I’ve felt his absence a lot,” Trigueros said. He keeps in touch with his father through social media.
This year’s Rose Parade Theme is “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” The members of Banda El Salvador said they’ve taken the theme to heart. They’ve already reached one of their dreams, and there are so many more places to go.
Comments
In a great blog.
Happy new year to you and to your readers, Tim.