Singing the national anthem a capella 14 times in just under an hour is a parade tradition on the Fourth of July in Coronado for Alfonso LeAlcala III. Daunting for even the most experienced musicians, Alfonso has been an enthusiastic fixture for the past 15 years and he has no plans of stopping anytime soon. In 2011, his friend Mike Keenan, known as the Coronado handyman, got him his first national anthem gig at the parade. As the number of booths and commentators have expanded, so has the number of times that Alfonso sings “The Star-Spangled Banner” along the route.
As a “boomer,” he embraces the traditional 90-second version and doesn’t appreciate renditions with embellishments. Each July 4, he starts at the first announcer station at Orange Avenue and First Street at approximately 9:25 a.m. and then performs at each stand as he makes his way along the route. An hour later he has sung the national anthem 14 times and has felt the love of the crowd.
Alfonso grew up in San Diego, was the oldest of six kids, and was always outgoing. He now lives in La Mesa but did live in Coronado for a couple of years. He feels at home in Coronado and enjoys going to the VFW and McP’s Irish Pub.
“I love the mentality of the Coronado community, which is genuinely patriotic, enthusiastic and respectful,” he said.
While he always liked music, he didn’t grow up singing. Educated as an engineer at SDSU, he was a cheerleader in college and took piano, guitar, and voice lessons, which were a springboard to help him conquer his fear of public singing. He now works in construction and sings the national anthem at dozens of events each year. His first national anthem performance was secured in 1996, after he sent in a demo cassette tape to sing at a San Diego Gull’s hockey game. He has gone on to perform the national anthem for the Padres regular season and spring training games, rodeos all over Southern California, NHL games, Over the Line tournaments, a host of summer concert series, including our own Concerts in the Park, and many more. He does love karaoke and his favorite genre of music is country. He was even in a country band called the Urban Outlaws as a vocalist and guitar player. Some favorite ‘go to’ songs are “Neon Moon” and “Take it Easy.”
Robb Huff, who has been managing the parade announcers (and is one himself) for more than 30 years, says that Alfonso’s vocal abilities are impressive.
“The parade had grown from three early stations with a two-foot riser, a microphone and a script, to today with the current five-foot high stations, with full-on audio gear and music. It’s been quite a ride and Alfonso has grown with us,” said Robb.
When asked about the hardest part of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Alfonso quickly called out “rockets’ red glare” and “land of the free.” His vocal coach told him to think big like Pavarotti, to bring in needed air to nail the high notes. Singing comes naturally to him, but he practices scales and even the national anthem by humming through a vinyl tube positioned in a half-full water bottle to provide resistance to warm up his diaphragm.
The Coronado Fourth of July parade is the highlight of his year, and he enjoys the camaraderie with the announcers and crowd immensely.
“The sun is shining; it is a beautiful atmosphere and people in Coronado love their country. You can feel the enthusiasm, and my favorite booth is Robb’s because of the big bleachers and speakers which echo off the library,” he said.
“I’ll sing as long as you will have me,” he teases Robb, but is aiming for at least 25 years, maybe longer. “For me, the biggest compliment is when the anthem brings out emotions and touches peoples’ soul,” he says. His two sons and daughter are musical, and he has been bringing his daughter Rachel to the parade with him for years and hopes to harmonize with her one day.
Alfonso is just one of more than 150 volunteers that make the Coronado Fourth of July parade and related activities a reality. Currently, more volunteers are needed for 2026. For a list of volunteer job descriptions, click here. To sign up for a volunteer shift, visit: coronadofourthofjuly.com/volunteer-sign-up-2/.
According to Robb, the parade actually started in 1888, but was held sporadically until 1948, when it began a consistent annual tradition, minus 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The iconic patriotic event is enjoyed by thousands of residents and visitors and will have even greater significance this year as the nation celebrates 250 years.
For details on this year’s parade, visit CoronadoFourthofJuly.com.
Find the “anthem guy” on Instagram @alfonsolealcala and on YouTube @alfonsolealcala7851.
