The City of McAllen on Friday announced key details for the 2025 McAllen Holiday Parade, set for Saturday, Dec. 6, including the posthumous naming of parade founder Joe Vera as grand marshal and appearances by Guatemalan soccer legend Carlos Ruiz and actor Danny Trejo.

"The City of McAllen along with our partners at Blax Furniture is thrilled to have everyone with us today to announce the next big things that are coming our way for the holiday parade on Saturday, December 6," said Edema Chappah, the city’s Director of Communications. City Manager Isaac (Ike) Tewill paid tribute to the late organizer’s legacy and introduced the celebrity guests: "On December 6, please welcome soccer legend Carlos Ruiz a k a El Pescarito to the McAllen holiday parade."

The announcement included multiple community partnerships and promotions. Karina Jimenez, Director of Special Events, said top high school marching bands from across the Rio Grande Valley will perform along the 1.5-mile route and that "Danny Trejo has ... offered to sign 50 copies of his best-selling memoir which reached number 3 in the New York Times bestseller list," to be distributed to paradegoers with help from the McAllen Public Library.

Sponsors will support ticket giveaways and pop-up events. Andre Lozano of H-E-B said the grocer will host pop-up giveaways on Nov. 22 at three Valley stores, giving away 50 parade tickets per location and offering buy-one-get-one promotions for stadium seating. Jose de la Garza of LAX described store promotions tied to the event, including a $1,000 mattress gift certificate prize and a new truck-shaped LAX parade balloon.

Officials also laid out logistics and safety measures. Traffic Director Madeline Gadesa provided the street-closure schedule, saying the first closures begin Friday, Dec. 5: "The first set of closures kick off on Friday, December 5 with the traffic department closing the outside lanes of Bicentennial Boulevard at 9AM," followed by noon and 1:00 p.m. setup closures. On Saturday, Dec. 6, closures begin at 5:00 a.m. for setup, with staged closures at 10:00 a.m., noon (to secure Bicentennial from Hackberry to Business 83), 1:00–2:00 p.m. (east–west streets including Pecan Boulevard and Business 83), and 3:00–4:00 p.m. (final closures north of 23rd Street). Gadesa said up-to-date maps and closure notices will be posted on mcallenholidayparade.com.

Metro McAllen confirmed transit plans to reduce traffic: "The Polar Express is completely free," said Michael McNue, Metro McAllen chief safety officer. He said the park-and-ride shuttle from the South Texas College Cooper Center will run continuously "from noon until 11:59PM on December 6" and is ADA accessible.

The press conference concluded with on-site prize drawings and a recap of headline items: the posthumous grand marshal recognition for Joe Vera, Carlos Ruiz’s appearance, the return of top high school marching bands, H-E-B ticket giveaways, LAX’s custom balloon and store promotions, Danny Trejo’s signed-book giveaway, and transit and traffic plans. Chappah said the city will formally kick off the holiday weekend with a ribbon-cutting on Friday, Dec. 5, at 5:00 p.m.

Practical details for residents: consult mcallenholidayparade.com for the full road-closure map and timing; expect staged closures across Bicentennial Boulevard and adjoining streets throughout Dec. 5–6; and use the free Polar Express shuttle for event parking and ADA-accessible transport into the parade area.