ENTERTAINMENT | Festive parade to bring ‘space party’ to town

Local and foreign performance groups will once again lend their efforts to an unforgettable show through the city’s streets in this year’s “Parade through Macau, Latin City”, which will take place on December 14. The annual artistic event, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), will see performers parading through the streets near the Ruins of St Paul’s before arriving at Tap Seac Square.
IC president Ung Vai Meng said that the parade this year is both a celebration of the 15th anniversary of Macau’s handover and a means of boosting the local economy.
“Macau’s participants can compare themselves with and learn from foreign participants. [The parade] can also reduce our distance with Latin American countries. The historic center of Macau can be utilized as well so that it can be a historic center [filled]with life,” said Ung on the sidelines of yesterday’s press conference where the annual parade was presented.
The event this year will adopt the storyline of “A Party In Space.” It centers on the arrival of an alien force from a faraway galaxy that wants to recover its colors and prolong joy by absorbing the positive energy from the parade.
Moreover, the IC has, for the first time, invited local musicians and singers to create a theme song “Go! Go! Ole!” for the event. One of the participants in the creation of the song, William Keong, said that they researched Latin American and Mediterranean music, while also incorporating elements of Portuguese music. They have also set up mobile studios across Macau and have invited residents to participate in parts of the recording process. With its catchy tune, Keong hopes that all participants will be reminded of the parade every time they hear the song.
One of the performers in the event, Stella Ho from local dance group Stella & Artists, said that she and her colleagues are going to emphasize modern dance in this year’s performance and will try to make their costumes more eye-catching. She also suggested that performers from overseas are more experienced in attracting spectators’ attention. Participating in the annual event for the second time, Ho believes that her colleagues will deliver a better performance through learning from last year’s experience.