“The bands chosen for this year’s Rose Parade came from near and far. The hometown Pasadena City College honor band travelled a few blocks. The Banda El Salvador travelled four days — the high schoolers from Central America arrived by bus with a performance that did not disappoint,” according to KPCC, 89.3.  (See the video below for a close up of the bus ride).

There are a lot of Salvadorans here in Santa Ana.  In fact one of them, Cecilia Iglesias, was the top vote-getter in this year’s SAUSD School Board race.  I am sure they were thrilled to be watching young people from their country performing so well in the Rose Parade!  The Salvadoran Americans lining the parade route certainly were.

USA Today mentioned Banda El Salvador while covering the Rose Parade, describing them as: a 200-plus member marching band and folkloric dance troupe, played sassy Latin rhythms and paid homage to their Central American country by dressing in the national colors of blue and white and shouting “Arriba El Salvador!”

Here is another view from the parade route, by Edgardo Moreno, a journalist who shot a lot of videos of the Banda Salvador, which you may view here.

Mexicans had something to cheer for too, according to the US News & World Report, which reported that “The Aguiluchos band from Puebla, Mexico, earned cheers for their fancy footwork and vaquero rope tricks.”

If you would like to find out more about our friends from El Salvador be sure to try Izalco, the Salvadoran restaurant that opened in Santa Ana in October of 2012, where El Curtido used to be located. 

Izalco is “a new cafe run by the son of Salvadoran immigrants. This new take on Salvadoran cuisine – named after an iconic volcano and region in El Salvador – has a larger menu, more modern ideas on traditional fare and a décor that is decidedly more soothing,” according to the O.C. Register.

You can check out Izalco’s Facebook page here.