More than 3.5 million spectators and 50 million viewers nationwide will watch as a colorful army of drummers, dancers, towering floats and twirlers lead the holiday festivities this year — and one of them hails from Mexico.
Veracruz’s Delfines Marching Band (DMB) or “Banda Musical Delfines de la Escuela Secundaria Gral. 5,” is one of the featured bands appearing at the 86th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. A statement from Macy's reveals they will be performing “Fiesta Mexican,” as part of their musical selection.
According to the band's Facebook page, DMB is a high school marching band originating from Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. Since the group made their debut in 1999, DMB is now made up of over 200 musicians and 40 dancers. They have performed in competitions and festivals in Spain, Holland, Italy and Germany. They also participated at the 2011 Rose Parade in the U.S., one of only two foreign groups to do so. Their musical director, Jesus Emmanuel Mendoza, initially told Diario de Xalapa their programming highlights folkloric Mexican tunes, celebrating their culture.
Mendoza also notes the goal of DMB is to inspire Mexico’s youth using the arts, specifically music.
The selection of school marching bands to be invited to participate in Macy’s Parade was, according to an official release, “based on submitted videos of past performances, awards, national recognition, letters of recommendation and of course, each band’s unique personality to captivate an audience.”
The release also states the chosen groups became involved in fundraising efforts to raise money for their New York City performances.
The parade will be broadcast live from 9AM to noon (EST) on Thanksgiving Day. One of this year’s floats is the 32-ft. long “Dora’s Christmas Carol Adventure.”
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