The traditional Rose Parade kicked off this Tuesday in Pasadena, California, to mark the arrival of a new year, in an edition that has the participation of two bands from Mexico and Panama.
Hundreds of rose-decorated floats will travel five and a half miles down the city's Colorado Avenue, a custom first celebrated in 1890 and followed today by millions around the world.
After the parade, a college football game will be held at the legendary Rose Bowl stadium, also in Pasadena.
Participants in the Rose Parade, in Pasadena, California, on Jan. 2, 2023. Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The Banda Música Primavera brings the music and rhythm of Panama for the first time in the celebration.
"We feel very happy to be able to represent Panama and everything we have; traditions, parties and customs," explained Diana, one of the members of the group, to the local Noticias Telemundo station in Los Angeles.
During the tour, about 200 musicians and dancers will perform 10 songs.
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On the other hand, the former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona Gabby Giffords is this year the Grand Marshal of the parade, personifying the motto of this edition 'Around the corner', according to the organization.
"Most of us have the luxury of facing our challenges in private, and many of us also have the freedom to overcome or heal in our own time. But when you have no choice but to be both vulnerable and strong in public, with the entire nation looking, that requires a special kind of bravery and that's why Gabby Giffords is the perfect example of how to turn the corner," the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association says on its website.
Giffords was wounded in the head in a shooting at a rally outside a supermarket in Casas Adobes, Arizona.
The attack left her with serious consequences, such as the impossibility of speaking for a while, for which she has had to make a long recovery.