Banda Municipal de Zarcero from Costa Rica will preform at the west end of the pier on December 27, just days before marching in the 2024 Rose Parade in Pasadena.

At the end of the year, people from all over the world travel to Pasadena, CA, to watch one of the longest-running parades that celebrates a storied sporting event here in Southern California. With so many visitors in town, many Rose Parade participants are eager to visit other iconic destinations in the greater LA area, including the Santa Monica Pier. This year, Rose Parade participant, Banda Municipal de Zarcero will march the length of the Pier boardwalk and perform a short musical selection.

The Banda Municipal de Zarcero (BMZ), has 308 members, originally from the Zarcero area, province of Alajuela, in the country of Costa Rica, has been chosen for the second time, to participate in the 135th Rose Parade. The bands first participation was in the 2020 parade. This year the band is the only Latin American band participant, so through the Government of Costa Rica, they will serve as Ambassadors of Culture representing not only Latin America, but the original Indigenous culture of their countries.

The student band was founded in 2008 under the direction of Lic. Elesban Rodríguez Rojas. It has participated in 11 Festivals of Light in San José and has toured all provinces of Costa Rica, showcasing Costa Rican culture and music. It even secured first place in the Festival of Light in San José, Costa Rica in 2022. The band has also performed abroad, including in Panama in 2013, participating in the Cofeca Parade in Los Angeles, California in 2017, and winning first place as the best folk group in Italy in 2018. They were participants in the Disney Parade in 2019 and will be performing again in 2023. In 2020, they represented Costa Rica in the Rose Parade and will once again represent all of Latin America in the 2024 edition of the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.

For more information, follow the band on social media @bandamzarcero.

About the Rose Parade

Traditionally held before the Rose Bowl Game on the morning of New Years’ Day, The Rose Parade travels 5 ½ miles down Colorado Blvd. and features four types of entries: floral-decorated floats entered by a participating corporation, non-profit organization or municipality, equestrian units, bands, and Tournament Entries. The earliest Tournament of Roses welcomed 3,000 spectators to its first parade filled with beautiful, horse-drawn carriages covered in flowers. More than a century later, the parade floats are a marvel of state of the art technology, all tucked away beneath flowers and other all-natural materials.

About the Rose Bowl Game

The Rose Bowl Game is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. Nicknamed “The Granddaddy of Them All” by broadcaster Keith Jackson, it was the first postseason football game ever established and remains a much-loved college football tradition.

About Rose Bowl Stadium

The Rose Bowl Stadium or “America’s Stadium” is a National Historic Landmark that was built in 1922. The stadium is known for hosting the annual Rose Bowl Game, but it has also earned its world-class reputation by hosting five NFL Super Bowls, 1984 Olympic soccer matches, the 1994 Men’s World Cup, the 1999 Women’s World Cup, four BCS National College Football Championships, and numerous other memorable events over the past ninety plus years.

Marching Bands at the Santa Monica Pier

The Santa Monica Pier hosts hundreds of live musical acts every year as part of our free public programing and street performer program. The areas on the Pier boardwalk designated for performers, including school bands, choirs, and dance troops, are all managed by the Office of Pier Management and the Pier Corporation, a non-profit entity responsible for cultural programing on the Pier. There are several steps to getting a spot to perform on the Santa Monica Pier. You can read more about the permitting and space assignment here, or reach out to the Santa Monica Pier Corporation for more information.