SAN ANTONIO — The organization planning the Fiesta Flambeau Parade in 2024 announced the grand marshal of the event Tuesday morning.
The announcement took place at a news conference at the Japanese Tea Gardens north of downtown.
The Grand Marshal of the Fiesta Flambeau Parade in 2024 will be legendary fashion journalist Michael Quintanilla. He’s reported for the San Antonio Express News, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times Herald. His reporting on 9/11 helped the Los Angeles Times win two Pulitzer Prize awards. At the news conference, he spoke of his roots in San Antonio.
“When I was a little Chicano kid growing up on the south side, I would dream about stuff like this,” Quintanilla said. “And I would tell my mom how I wanted to be a writer, an actor and ride on a float!”
The honorary Grand Marshal will be Angela Salinas, a retired Marine Corps major general. Salinas was the first Hispanic woman to achieve the rank of general in the Marine Corps. She served in the military for a total of 39 years at every level of command. She currently serves as CEO of the Girl Scouts of South Texas.
“I am thrilled to represent the Girl Scouts of South Texas in the best parade ever!” Salinas said at the news conference.
The parade route goes through downtown San Antonio and is planned for the night of April 27. The event is one of the world's biggest illuminated night parades and began in 1948. The parade's name comes from the French word for a candlestick or torch. In the event's early years, four-man brigades marched between the other units, carrying torches on five-foot poles. Today, Boy Scouts carry safety flares. All the floats in the Flambeau Parade are lighted.
Fiesta this year runs from April 18-April 28. Click here for everything we know about Fiesta 2024!