YouTube video shows inspirational El Salvadoran Rose Parade band
Posted on 03. Jan, 2008 by kchristieh in inspirational people, international, local news, music, my life, videos
On New Year’s Day my family enjoyed watching the Rose Parade from the balcony of my husband’s law office. We had a bird’s eye view from nine stories up, so it was a different perspective than most spectators had. I took a bunch of short videos with my new Flip Video Ultra and posted them on YouTube that afternoon.
The results from one of the videos in particular have been astounding. As of this blog posting, my video of the band from El Salvador has had nearly 6,000 views, has 124 comments, has been favorited 77 times and has received 11 honors. I uploaded the original video files to my server to accommodate the many people who asked me for them, and I hope that the guy who’s making the documentary about the band finds funding and uses my video. I’ve had many comments thanking me, and even fielded a phone call from a very nice person who thanked me profusely for posting the video. My daughter has helped me translate some of the comments, as about half of them are in Spanish.
It’s no surprise that the Nuestros Angeles de El Salvador band has inspired so many people. The LA Times story, Tough trek to Pasadena for Salvadoran band, tells about how the band’s airfare funding fell through, so they took a five-day bus ride to get here.
Saul Perez, one of the band’s directors, said it would have been a crushing defeat if the group had not made it to Pasadena. The youth members practiced for more than a year, went through a rigorous selection process and were poised to represent their country on the world’s stage at Tuesday’s parade.
But problems began when 30 members of the group could not even begin the journey because they didn’t receive visas. Then the band canceled their flights because their budget was still short $200,000. They set out instead in a caravan of five buses on Christmas Day.
“When we left, we thought the trip would take three days,” Perez said. “It was a tale of many difficulties.”
When the band played at the corner of Lake and Colorado, the crowd went wild. No other band or float evoked such an enthusiastic reaction. Many of the spectators waved Salvadoran flags, and it was clear that they were inspired not just by the tough journey the band made to get here, but by the positive image the band was reflecting for El Salvador and Latinos everywhere.
My grandfather’s brother, Corbett, married a woman from Colonia Las Mercedes, San Salvador long, long ago. I used to send her Christmas cards, but after not hearing from her for many years I assumed she’d passed away. I wonder if she did? If any one of you El Salvador folks knows Maria Zuniga de Long, please let me know!
Kathy–
Great story… you’re spreading goodwill in 08! Didn’t take you long :)
OMG!!! this article is awesome! Right now you are like the queen of El Salvador!
Thanks for taking a little bit more of El Salvador. Salvadorean people and God will bless you forever! And about Maria Zuniga de Long, just have that beautiful feeling that was sometime your family :]
Great article. I want to thank you once again for uploading this amazing video. I love it, I have enjoyed it so much, it’s better than those released by the media. I’m very proud of this band, and will be forever.
Thank you.
I just want to thank you again for uploading this video to YouTube.com maybe you don’t understand why, but for me it’s impossible to watch this video over and over agian without tears in my eyes (specially at minute 2:12 when they play a famous song calle “Mi Pais” – My Country…). Their story has inspired me and they had made me feel proud of being Salvadorean again…
Gracias !!!
Your video is highly appreciated by our Salvadorean community, your comments have also been mentioned in our country. The kids have seen it and they are so happy that people like you have enjoyed their hard work. For us this is a historical event for our country. The media just talks and writes about the negative aspects of our society but don’t pay much attention to the tenacity and dedication of our people. They made it thanks to so many wonderful people (hispanics & americans) and with great humility these kids gave the best of them.
Thank you again !!!