Sebastián Yatra to Make Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade This Year with Special Appearance

Posted on November 14, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastián Yatra will be spending Thanksgiving in the Big Apple.

The 30-year-old Colombian singer will perform at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in his career.

He’ll host a special performance with a holiday choir comprised of Macy’s colleagues with members from Big Brothers Big Sisters on the Winter Wonderland in Central Park float.

His first involvement with Macy’s was during the 2020 parade, when he was originally meant to perform on The LEGO Group’s Brick-Changer float. But due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, he had to drop out and his spot was given to the Goo Goo Dolls.

But Yatra isn’t the only Latino/a artist set to be part of this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Natti Natasha and Liza Colón-Zayas will also make appearances during the parade.

Hosted again by Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker, the 98th Macy’s Parade lineup is being billed as the largest yet.

NBC‘s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is set to air live on Thursday, November 28 from 8:30 am until 12:00 pm ET/PT. It will also simulstream on Peacock and have an encore on NBC at 2 pm ET/PT.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast is produced by Silent House Productions.

Here’s a look at the artists/talents set to participate:

Stars
This year’s Macy’s Parade will feature Bishop Briggs, Kylie Cantrall, Chlöe, Dan + Shay, Dasha, Jimmy Fallon & The Roots, Coco Jones, Walker Hayes, Ariana Madix, Joey McIntyre, Idina Menzel, Natti Natasha, T-Pain, Rachel Platten, Lea Salonga, The Temptations, The War and Treaty, Alex Warren and Sebastián Yatra. Dance sensation Charli D’Amelio and ballet dancers Tiler Peck and Roman Mejia will perform. Jonathan Bennett, Liza Colón-Zayas, Tom Kenny, Ginna Claire Mason and members of WNBA Champions, New York Liberty with Ellie the Elephant will also make special appearances. This year’s official national broadcast will include performances from Broadway’s Death Becomes Her, Hell’s Kitchen and The Outsiders as well as the Radio City Rockettes.

High-Flying Inflatables
This year, six new featured character balloons will debut, including Disney’s Minnie Mouse by The Walt Disney Company; Extraordinary Noorah & The Elf on the Shelf by The Lumistella Company; Gabby by DreamWorks Animation; Goku by Dragon Ball/Toei Animation; Marshall by Nickelodeon and Spin Master; and Spider-Man by Marvel.

Floats
This year six new floats will debut in the Macy’s Parade including Candy Cosmos by Haribo; Dora’s Fantastical Rainforest by Nickelodeon & Paramount; Magic Meets the Seas by Disney Cruise Line; Pasta Knight by Rao’s Homemade; Masterfeast by Netflix; and Wondrous World of Wildlife by Bronx Zoo. New specialty units for the 2024 Macy’s Parade include Strikes Again by Go Bowling!™; The Garriage by Nickelodeon, a whimsical carriage modeled after SpongeBob’s pet snail; and The Grannies Car from BBC Studios’ Bluey. Towed by Ram Trucks, the official truck of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the debuting floats will join a lineup of fan favorites including Santa’s Sleigh. Universal’s Merry Moment by Universal Orlando Resort, complete with stilt walkers, drums and dancers will also delight crowds.

Featured Performances
Featured marching bands include University of Massachusetts Minuteman Marching Band (Amherst, MA), Avon Marching Black & Gold (Avon, IN), East Tennessee State University Marching Buccaneers (Johnson City, TN), Flower Mound High School Marching Band (Flower Mound, TX), The Lake Hamilton High School Marching Band (Hot Springs, AR), Sioux Falls Lincoln High School “Patriot” Marching Band (Sioux Falls, SD), The Majestic Marching Cardinals of Jonesboro High School (Morrow, GA), Macy’s Great American Marching Band (United States), The Carolina Band of the University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC) and (Morgantown, WV). NYPD Marching Band (New York, NY) will also join the festivities.

Closing out the entertainment lineup are performance groups including Circus Vazquez; Riverdance (North American Tour and Academy), AUM Dance Creations (Bridgewater, NJ), Black Haus Creative (New York, NY), BOSS Kids (New York, NY), Indigenous Enterprise (Phoenix, AZ), Kilgore College Rangerettes (Kilgore, TX), MOVE NYC (New York, NY) and 700 talented dancers and cheerleaders of Spirit of America Dance and Spirit of America Cheer.

Auli’i Cravalho Returning to Lead Voice Cast of Disney’s “Moana 2”

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Auli’i Cravalho has more to go…

The 23-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress/singer will reprise the voice of Moana in Disney’s Moana 2.

It has been previously reported that Cravalho as in talks to reteam with Dwayne Johnson, who is returning as demigod Maui.

In a CNBC interview ahead of Disney‘s last earnings call, CEO Bob Iger sprung the news that Moana 2 was opening of November 27, during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Disney essentially was over the moon with a Moana Disney+ series that it turned into a big-screen movie.

The sequel is directed by Dave Derrick Jr., with music by Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Grammy nominee Opetaia Foa’i and three-time Grammy winner Mark Mancina.

Cravalho told fans last May on social media that she wasn’t planning to reprise the role of Moana in the live-action version of the movie.

“When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career,” she said in a video posted on Instagram back then. “In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital the casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell.”

Cravalho, a native of Kohala, Hawaii, continued at the time: “So, as an executive producer on the film, I cannot wait to help find the next actress to portray Moana’s courageous spirit, undeniable wit and emotional strength. I’m truly honored to pass this baton to the next young woman of Pacific Island descent, to honor our incredible Pacific peoples cultures and communities that help inspire her story. And I look forward to all the beautiful Pacific representations to come. Mahalo.”

Released in 2016, Moana grossed more than $687M at the global box office and earned Oscar nominations for Best Animated Feature and the original song “How Far I’ll Go” by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Cravalho recently starred in Paramount’s winter hit Mean Girls and also starred on the TV series Rise, The Power and the animated series, Hailey’s on It!

Rachel Zegler’s “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” Wins U.S. Box Office Crown in Debut Weekend

Posted on November 19, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Rachel Zegler is enjoying box office gold…

The 22-year-old half-Colombian American Golden Globe-winning starlet’s The Hunger Games” prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes emerged victorious in a busy box office weekend.

The Lionsgate film, which brings audiences back to the dystopia of Panem for the first time in nearly a decade, collected $44 million from 3,776 North American theaters and $98 million globally in its first weekend of release.

While initial ticket sales didn’t recapture the spark of the original franchise, which propelled Jennifer Lawrence to global stardom and inspired three sequels, they were enough to win the weekend over three fellow newcomers, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s threequel Trolls Band Together, Sony’s gory thriller Thanksgiving and director Taika Waititi’s sports comedy Next Goal Wins.

Although The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes opened significantly lower than its predecessors — each of the four Hunger Games installments launched to at least $100 million at the domestic box office — analysts believe the film is well positioned in its theatrical run. It cost $100 million to produce, more than the first Hunger Games but substantially less than the three sequels (with the final 2015 adventure costing $160 million).

“This is a very good opening for an action-adventure prequel,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “On average, prequels start with approximately half of the previous film’s opening, and this weekend’s figure is close to that.”

Zegler and The Gilded Age actor Tom Blyth star in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, based on the 2020 novel by author Suzanne Collins. It’s a standalone film in the $3 billion Hunger Games franchise, which takes place six decades before Katniss Everdeen bravely volunteered as tribute.

The story centers on a young Coriolanus Snow, who later becomes the tyrannical president of the dystopian Panem, as well as District 12 tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, whom he mentors in the 10th annual Hunger Games. Reviews have been mixed, with 60% on Rotten Tomatoes and a “B+” CinemaScore. Audiences were mostly young women; 65% were female and 73% were between the ages of 18-34.

It likely benefitted from a late-breaking boost in publicity (SAG-AFTRA granted the film an interim agreement days before the strike ended on November 9), which allowed the cast — including Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage and Euphoria star Hunter Schafer — the opportunity to promote the film before it arrived in theaters.

Cardi B & Patti LaBelle Team Up for Holiday-Themed Kitchen Collaboration

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Cardi B is partnering with an R&B legend for a special kitchen collaboration…

The 31-year-old half-Dominican American Grammy-winning rap superstar is joining forces with Patti LaBelle to get people into the holiday spirit with a sweet collaboration.

Cardi B and LaBelle have combined their dessert brands — Whipshots (Cardi B’s vodka-infused whipped cream) and Good Life pies (LaBelle’s pie brand) — for some boozy desserts that’ll add some spice to your Thanksgiving celebrations and beyond.

The two stars are appealing to your sweet tooth through a social media campaign that kicked off on Thursday, November 9. In a minute-and-a-half video, the Grammy-winning artists share holiday traditions while mixing the flavors of their desserts to create some iconic pairings.

“Let’s do pumpkin,” Cardi B tells LaBelle in a video posted on X (formerly known as Twitter) as she picks up a can of her Pumpkin Spice Whipshots to top LaBelle’s sweet potato pie. “Pumpkin for sweet potato?” the Godmother of Soul questioned. The “Bongos” rapper reassures her by saying, “They make love together — you gotta trust me.”

This won’t be the only taste fans get of the two together: The collaboration will span seven sitcom-inspired episodes of the stars concocting pairings your sweet tooth will be craving even after the holidays are over.

LaBelle’s Good Life Pies are available on Walmart, while Cardi B’s Whipshots can be found where most alcohol is sold, including Total Wine, DoorDash, GoPuff, Drizly, Albertsons and Vons.

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Manuel Turizo to Make Performance Debut at This Year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Posted on November 2, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Manuel Turizo is making a special Thanksgiving debut…

The 23-year-old Colombian singer will perform at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Turizo exploded onto the scene in 2018 with his smash single “Culpables.” Numerous hits like “Esperándote” and “Una Lady Como Tú” and high-profile collaborations like “El Merengue” with Marshmello & the reggaeton single “Copa Vacía” with Shakira soon followed. Fast forward to 2022: Turizo’s biggest hit “La Bachata” reached No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Latin chart and earned Global Song of the Year honors at the Latin Billboard Awards. His recently released “Dem Time Deh” with Sean Paul is bound to keep the accolades coming.

But Turizo isn’t the only Latinx artist expected to take part in the parade.

Kirstin Maldonado and her Pentatonix group mates will be performing as well.

The 31-year-old part-Spanish and half-Mexican American singer and her group mates have redefined a cappella. The three-time Grammy-winning vocal quintet have reached unprecedented heights, selling 10 million albums worldwide.

The group was named “The Most Streamed Holiday Artist of 2022” and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023. Pentatonix is set to embark on their 2023 North American Christmas tour, The Most Wonderful Tour of the Year, this November in support of their recently released holiday greatest hits album, The Greatest Christmas Hits.

Other artists set to perform include Cher and Jon Batiste, as well as the Broadway casts of & Juliet, Back to the Future, How To Dance In Ohio, Shucked and Spamalot.

The parade and the NBC broadcast will kick off at 8:30 am ET on Thursday, November 23, a half-hour earlier than the traditional 9:00 am start.

The 97th Macy’s Parade lineup will include 5,000 volunteers, 16 featured character balloons, 26 floats, 32 heritage and novelty balloons, more than 700 clowns, 12 marching bands and nine performance groups, according to parade officials.

Filming for Second Season of Diego Luna’s “Star Wars” Prequel “Andor” to Begin in Late November

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Diego Luna is back at War…

Andor, the Star Wars prequel starring the 42-year-old Mexican actor and producer, has already set the start of filming for its second season with creator Tony Gilroy revealing the date.

Earlier this year, Gilroy confirmed that the second season of Andor would start shooting in November.

Eager fans had been anxious to find out when that would be and Gilroy recently told Collider in an interview that the Disney+ series would start shooting “the Monday before Thanksgiving,” which is November 21.

The show was planned out as a two-season adventure with the second season leading up to the events in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story where audiences were first introduced to Luna’s Cassian Andor character. Each season would consist of 12 episodes for a total of 24 episodes.

Gilroy had previously said the first season would consist of one year presented throughout 12 episodes. The second season would be broken into “four blocks of three [episodes]” with “each block” representing “another year closer.”

“We really get to take the formative forging of Cassian Andor in the first 12 episodes and then we get to take that organism that we’ve built up and run it through the next four years in a really exciting narrative fashion,” he added.

Gilroy hinted that the last season of Episode 24 would “walk the audience directly into the first scenes of Rogue One.”

Andor explores a new perspective from the Star Wars galaxy, focusing on Cassian Andor’s journey to discover the difference he can make. The series brings forward the tale of the burgeoning rebellion against the Empire and how people and planets became involved. It’s an era filled with danger, deception and intrigue where Cassian embarks on the path that is destined to turn him into a rebel hero.

Mario Lopez to Appear During This Year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Posted on November 1, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Mario Lopez has firmed up his Thanksgiving plans…

The 49-year-old Mexican American actor and television personality will appear during this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Lopez, who currently serves as the host of Access Hollywood, will appear alongside his family during the parade.

The parade will also include the traditional line-up of Broadway performances, with Lea Michele and the cast of Funny Girl scheduled to participate, Macy’s has announced.

The Broadway productions listed in the performance line-up this year, in addition to Funny Girl, are Disney’s long-running The Lion King, as well as new Broadway arrivals A Beautiful Noise, the Neil Diamond musical, and Some Like It Hot, the musical adaptation of the 1959 classic film comedy.

Other entertainers included in this year’s parade are Paula Abdul; Carlos PenaVega and his Big Time Rush mates; Cam; Jordan Davis; Blue’s Clues & You! host Josh Dela Cruz; Gloria, Sasha and Emily Estefan; Jimmy Fallon & The Roots; Fitz and the Tantrums; Kirk Franklin; Ziggy Marley; Miss America 2022 Emma Broyles; the cast and Muppets of Sesame Street; Sean Paul; the cast of Peacock’s Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin (Adam Devine, Sarah Hyland and Flula Borg); the Radio City Rockettes; Joss Stone; Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue; Jordin Sparks; Dionne Warwick; and Betty Who.

The annual New York event airs live on NBC and Peacock Thanksgiving Thursday, November 24 at 9:00 am in all time zones.

Gio Reyna & His U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team Mates to Be Subject of World Cup-Themed Docuseries

Posted on August 16, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Gio Reyna’s World Cup preparations are headed to the small screen…

The U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team (USMNT) will be the subject of a new documentary series as they gear up for the international soccer competition featuring the 19-year-old half-Argentine American soccer player and his teammates.

Park Stories and H.wood Media have teamed up with the U.S. Soccer Federation and Soccer United Marketing on the untitled all-access docuseries.

The series is expected to launch on a streamer around the Qatar World Cup in November.

The series will bring fans into the locker room and visit the players in their hometowns as they prepare for the tournament.

The team is competing in its first World Cup since 2014 and has an exciting team of youngsters including Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, Juventus’ Weston McKennie, Barcelona’s Sergiño Dest and Borussia Dortmund’s Reyna.

Led by head coach Gregg Berhalter, the first person in U.S. history to represent the country at the World Cup as a player and a head coach, the team will fight it out against England, Wales and Iran in the group stages.

They kick off against Gareth Bale-led Wales on November 21 before facing Euros finalists England on the day after Thanksgiving before competing against Iran on November 29.

The games will air on Fox and Telemundo.

The docuseries is exec produced by Rand Getlin and Janina Pelayo for Park Stories, and John Terzian, Jeremy Allen and Brian Toll are producing for H.wood Media.

The show is directed by Getlin and Luke Korver, and Nikle Guzijan will co-produce.

“Five billion people are projected to tune in for the 2022 World Cup, and this team has the potential to impact each of them in profoundly transformative ways,” said directors Getlin and Korver. “We know it starts with their play on the field, but we’re most excited for viewers to see them as sons, brothers, fathers and leaders who care deeply about their loved ones and bringing the world closer together.”

After representing the United States at several youth levels, Reyna received his first call up to the senior United States squad for matches against Wales and Panama in November 2020.^.On November 12, 2020, a day before his 18th birthday, Reyna made his senior national team debut against Wales. In the following game, a 6–2 friendly victory over Panama, Reyna started and scored his first senior goal directly from a free kick.

Sebastian Blanco “Ready” to Play in Saturday’s MLS Cup Final Against New York City FC

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Sebastian Blanco is ready to play…

The 33-year-old Argentine footballer, who suffered a reported hamstring injury in the MLS conference semifinal win over the Colorado Rapids on Thanksgiving Day that threatened to keep him out of the remainder of the MLS Cup playoffs, says he’s “ready” to take part in Saturday’s MLS Cup final against New York City FC.

Blanco was an unused substitute in the Portland Timbers‘ Western Conference final win over Real Salt Lake five days ago.

Dating back to August 29, Blanco has appeared in 15 of Portland’s 17 contests. Of those 15 games, the Timbers won 12 of them, with the 33-year-old attacker registering eight goals and five assists in that span.

His importance to Giovanni Savarese’s side can’t be understated, so it will come as a great relief to the Rose City that its No. 10 took part in full training on Thursday.

“I am ready. I’m OK, I feel good,” Blanco told members of the media during a news conference on Thursday. “I prepared myself for this game. I trained with my team today completely. Now we still need to have a conversation with [Savarese] … He will decide, but everything’s good.”

For the two months before his injury in Colorado, Blanco’s form gave Portland hope of a deep playoff run. And those expectations were heightened once the playoffs began, when he marked a dominating performance in a Round 1 win over Minnesota United with a brace.

But the Timbers had to scrap for their win over the Rapids, needing a 90th-minute winner from center-back Larrys Mabiala to advance out of the conference semifinals. An early goal from Felipe Mora ensured they were never too uncomfortable last Saturday against RSL, allowing Blanco to remain on the bench to continue rehabilitation toward a recovery that he refers to as nearly miraculous.

“After Colorado I was almost out, so we talk about the almost miracle to arrive to this game,” he said. “So to be part of this game is important to me. No matter what happens on Saturday, if I can play or not, it’s important to be a part and we need to support our team however I need to support.”

Despite the twice-capped Argentina international’s importance to Portland’s run to MLS Cup, NYCFC manager Ronny Deila insisted that his team is focused on containing all 11 of their opponents on the field come Saturday, not just Blanco.

“We’ve been talking a lot … here in MLS about specific players, and Blanco is … really good, of course, but they have top players plus a couple on the bench as well who can cause any team problems,” Deila said. “So it’s not about one guy, it’s about stopping them as a team.”

Fat Joe to Guest Host on “The Wendy Williams Show” Next Week

Posted on November 15, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Fat Joe is set to momentarily take the hosting reins…

The 51-year-old Puerto Rican and Cuban-American rapper has been announced as a guest host for The Wendy Williams Show.

Fat Joe is among a roster of guests hosts that will help take the show through Wednesday, November 24.

Thanksgiving week kicks off on Monday, November 22 with co-hosts Devyn Simone, Bevy Smith, Elizabeth Wagmeister and comedian/actor Michael Yo.

They’ll be followed by hip-hop stars Fat Joe and Remy Ma on Tuesday, November 23, and Wednesday, November 24, respectively, according to the show.

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Guest hosts have been filling for Williams since the show’s delayed Season 13 premiere on October 18, as Williams recovers from complications of Graves disease.

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