Adelante Worcester 3rd Annual Parrandón Navideño by Norma Fontain

Adelante’s Worcester 3^rd Parrandón Navideño in Worcester took place December 2, 2011 at the architecturally beautiful Union Station in Worcester, Massachusetts as its venue.

This year the Puerto Rican music Grupo Yagua played at the Parrandón, however despite their unquestionable musical talent they appeared to not have rehearsed for the show and the music was not fully appreciated because of lack of a good sound system, which did not satisfy the acoustics of the venue.  Many of the guests were also disappointed about the fact that they were hoping for a more significant variety of music much like last year’s Parrandón.

The beautiful hall at the Union Station was impeccably decorated and could have accommodate approximately 300-guests but unfortunately it felt as if only less than half the people expected showed up to the gala celebration. In fact it felt as if the venue was empty. And, if you were not directly in front of the speakers the music was not discernible enough to dance.   

Additionally, many of the guests opined that the lack of attendance was the result of poor publicity, public relations efforts and follow up.  Others considered that having a locally recognized “Salsa” band or any other talented band from Worcester would have boosted attendance because they normally bring their own following and people can relate to them better.

                                                                                                                                
Adelante held the Parrandón Navideño at Maxwell Silverman with much greater participation from the Community; it was better coordinated and the band had undoubtedly rehearsed before the event.

We have no choice now but to wait until 2012, hoping to see a more effective and enjoyable event.  Perhaps reaching out to local musicians, more publicity and more traditional Salsa....

Unfortunately, the general consensus is that this year’s Parrandón Navideño appears to have fallen short of its goal and did not capture the heart and souls of our local Hispanic audience in Worcester.

Employees from Citizens Bank

Ivette Olmeda from CWE, Flory Rodriguez from State Street, Paul Rodriguez and Norma and Marcus Fontain from Unimundo

I would say that we should all look forward to 2012 and fully support Adelante in its noble efforts. May all of you have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

by Norma Fontain www.unimundotv.com