Joining the roster of celebrity guests to the McAllen Holiday Parade are two more Telenovela stars.
Mexican telenovela star Marcos Montero will make his McAllen parade debut this year, while Danilo Carrera will return for his third appearance to host the Spanish-language broadcast.
“Marcos Montero is a Mexican television actor who has appeared in over a dozen telenovelas since 2014,” City Commissioner Omar Quintanilla said in announcing Montero during a news conference Monday.
Montero, 35, was born in Mexico and is married to fellow Mexican television, film and theater actress Susana Gonzalez.
Carrera is a telenovela star, model and former soccer player who boasts more than 3.3 million social media followers. He started his career as a model for Abercrombie & Fitch and went on to star in several telenovelas. He joined last year’s parade as a celebrity guest, but this year will serve as host for the 2022 Spanish-language broadcast.
The two actors round out the collection of celebrity guests that will be participating in the 2022 holiday parade, which will take over Bicentennial Boulevard and the McAllen Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Montero and Carrera will be in good company, joining previously-announced Ariadne Diaz and David Zepeda in McAllen’s holiday festivity.
Diaz is a telenovela, film and musical star, while Zepeda is a telenovela actor, model and singer.
But it wouldn’t be a McAllen Christmas parade without the appearance of a few Dallas Cowboys legends.
For this year’s procession, the city announced Super Bowl Champions Tony Hill, Nate Newton and Tony Casillas will be appearing in the parade.
Hill played wide receiver for Dallas from 1977 to 1986, winning Super Bowl XII with the Cowboys against the Denver Broncos.
Newton played guard for the Cowboys from 1986 to 1998, helping them win three Super Bowls.
Casillas was an all-pro defensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys, winning Super Bowl XXVII and XXVIII with the team against the Buffalo Bills.
Former soccer player Vicente Matias Vuoso was also announced for the parade. Born in Argentina, Matias Vuoso began his professional career with Independiente in the Primera Division of Argentina and later played for the Mexican national team from 2008 to 2015.
The program will once again be hosted by “Saved by the Bell” star Mario López. Linda Tovar of H-E-B will be co-hosting with López.
Houston-based radio host Raul Brindis and I-Heart Radio Host Tino Cochino will also be featured in the parade.
With just a few days left before the big celebration, Assistant City Manager Joe Vera thanked their sponsors for making the parade a possibility, stressing that no taxpayer dollars are used to cover the costs of the parade.
“This parade is totally supported by sponsors, so we’re very proud of that,” said Vera, who also serves as executive producer of the McAllen Holiday Parade.
“This is our ninth parade,” Vera noted. “It’s amazing that in this short time that we’ve been able to come this far.”
The parade will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at the stadium, located at 2001 N. Bicentennial Blvd. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, the McAllen Performing Arts Center box office or from community groups starting at $10 plus service fees.
Free seating is also available along the parade route on a first come, first served basis.
