They Will Perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
It will be a special Thanksgiving for two Española Valley cheerleaders, as they will spend the holiday in New York City, walking in the famed Macy’s Day Parade and being part of a large cheer group that will put on a televised performance when reaching the store’s primary viewing stand.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting experience for sure,” Amber Martinez, a senior who will be making her first trip to the Big Apple, said. “I’m excited to meet new people and make new friends.”
She’ll already be going with one of her best friends, fellow Sundevils cheerleader Neveah Ortega, a junior who got selected for the honor as a freshman.
The two were selected for the honor through Spirit Express West, which holds annual summer cheerleader camps in Bernalillo and selects two athletes from each participating school as All-Americans and to fill out the Spirit of America Productions cheer squad for the New York City parade.
“We had so much fun,” Ortega said of her prior trip. “We got to meet so many people from all over the country.”
Walking the streets of New York for the first time was an unforgettable experience, she said.
“I had never been to a city like that before,” Ortega said. “And there were so many people watching us. There were so many stores selling all kinds of things.”
The cheerleaders arrived in the city Saturday and immediately went into rehearsals, she said, many of them lasting three to four hours each day.
But the days, and nights, are also filled with excursions to tourist hotspots across Manhattan and the surrounding area, including Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and even Broadway shows like “Moulin Rouge,” and “Wicked.”
They also visited the 9/11 Memorial and got to see the Rockettes dance at Radio City Music Hall, all of which are on the itinerary this time around, as well, Ortega said.
“There were so many things to see and do,” she said.
Martinez never dreamed she’d get an opportunity like this.
“I’m super excited,” she said. “We’re going early, two days earlier than we’re supposed to, so we really get to see different things. I’ve never been to a big city like that before. I’m really excited. I can’t wait to go.”
While the sightseeing is a fun side highlight, getting to do what she loves is the really big thing, Martinez said.
“When we get to Macy’s, that’s where we perform the routines that we’ve learned,” she said. “We practice everyday leading up to the parade. There’s a lot of cheerleaders, so they have to figure out the formations. This gives us a chance to be with the all other girls and I’m really excited for that, too.”
Martinez has been cheering since she was in the third grade.
“My mom saw it on a Facebook ad one day and asked me if I wanted to try it and I told her it sounds like super fun,” she recalled. “She signed me up and I just started going to practices and I really enjoyed cheering. I told her it’s something I’m going to stick with as I get older.”
Indeed, now she’s one of the many Sundevils seniors heading into competition season and is also making the trip of a lifetime.
“It was the most exciting thing,” she said of being selected as an All-American. “It was something that was very special that I was able to do that and represent my team well. They gave us certificates as SWX All-Americans and the other teams (at the camp) were all cheering for us. It was a really great moment. I was like, ‘Wow, I’m an All-American.’ And the other girl, Neveah, is my best friend, so it’s an exciting experience to be able to do together.”
The cheerleaders are chosen by the camp’s coaches, Española coach Tatiana Quintana said.
“They show off their skills and their abilities, they put in a lot of hard work,” she said. “They have a lot of appreciation and pride. They’re such amazing athletes to represent Española.”
For Ortega, being a second-time participant is particularly special, Quintana said.
“We’re super proud of her,” she said. “I think it’s being representative of our community. And they have an entire team that’s excited for them to represent their school and their community.”
And that’s what drives her, Ortega said.
“It’s amazing that somebody from Española can go out and represent and show people how we are,” she said. “We do good things here in Española and the Valley and we want to show everybody our spirit and what we can do to represent our school and our community.”