Sound of Science story

It had been a day of running. The fiesta began at one o' clock and the hours passing since 5:30 am had been too short and extremely stressful. As usual, Larry had not prepared for the speech. He often didn't, no matter how important the topic and crowd were. Everyone would be watching him intently once he stepped up and started speaking, but unless he worked his heart out, he would have nothing to say. All morning, he was in a rush to get everything ready. He would be on the spotlight for an entire hour, talking about history and government after the parade. Writing an hour long speech from scratch and dashing around town going to and from the library, office, and coffee shop for all the research needed are never going to be easy things to do.
Maya had lived in Mexico her entire life. She knew so much about the country from her politically active parents and yet, her mother had wanted her to go to the talk about her own country's history and politics. It was actually more like a party and speech than a boring talk, but still, Maya was not looking forward to it. The only bonus to it was fresh nachos. And music. Ok and maybe lots of other things too, but she was still unexcited. There would be loud people there which was the last thing she wanted when her mood was this bad. There were plenty of other things she would have rather been doing. Maya was intent on believing that it was going to be an uneventful and boring hour for her, even if there were whistles and dresses.
Roberto could not believe it was finally happening. After the countless hours of practicing, he felt unprepared for what was about to happen. At ten years old, he was going to play his trumpet -- solo. The parade and street fiesta were planned just four months ago, the moment the new president was elected. He would bring so much change to the country since he was finally going into office, everyone was consumed by the excitement. It was now 11:00. Roberto had to be on the streets by 12:45, just in case things started earlier than 1:00. He shoved down his lunch and began to play the piece one more time before his first big performance.
It could probably be seen from a plane thousands of feet in the air. The reds of dancer's dresses, shocking white and navy blue of stands, even the scent of tortillas filled the air for what seemed like miles. And it was just the beginning of what was to come. More people would stop by and shout along with the parade music later in the fiesta. One man waited along the side of the road, hunched over a stapled packet of paper, muttering to himself. A teenage girl sat on a chair, a blank expression on her face under a stand, next to a woman talking endlessly. A young boy stood in the middle of the street, golden instrument in hand next to someone around the same age with an accordion. People started to sit next to the road and dancers, musicians, chefs, and politicians poured into the street as time passed.
At a few minutes after 1:00, it began. Thousands of people piled up alongside the main street. The heat was on the edge of unbearable, but everyone was so excited for their country and the event that it didn't matter. The first group to come down the street was a band of musicians. Then female dancers with big skirts and males in jeans and Hawaiian shirts came next. The cycle repeated with slightly different people, dances, music, clothing, and tricks coming each time. People cheered and waved the flags of their country as high as they could in the air. After about forty-five minutes of parading, a man stepped up to a wooden soapbox and people fell silent. He tilted the microphone toward his mouth and the rest of the people in the audience gave up talking for listening. After one sentence, most people were already moving into the world of Mexican history and pride as the speaker continued. In two hours, the real excitement would begin as a new leader took the reins.