VCD Student's Rose Float Design Wins Extraordinaire Award at the 2019 Rose Parade

Cal Poly Universities Rose Float "Far Out Frequencies," designed by visual communication design major Carlos Aceytuno, won the Extraordinaire Award at the 130th Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1.

The Cal Poly Rose Float, a collaboration between Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, featured astronauts Morgan and Sally joining six aliens to form an impromptu band to communicate goodwill through music. The Extraordinaire Award honors the parade's most extraordinary float, and notched the 59th trophy win for the two campuses.

Aceytuno had no experience working or designing floats, and was inspired to submit his design after viewing the 2018 Cal Poly Float "Dreams Take Flight" when it was displayed on campus in January 2017. His award-winning design was selected by the joint design team in Spring 2018, and was finalized in June. Aceytuno said the 2019 parade theme, “The Melody of Life” celebrating music as a universal language, resonated with him.

“The theme got the gears in my head working when I saw the word ‘universal,’" he shared in an October interview with PolyCentric. “I immediately thought of space and aliens, and this was further enhanced by the fact that I love science fiction. I do feel a connection to this year’s theme…. Music helps me concentrate on tasks and sometimes gives me inspiration as well. I also listen to a lot of music that I don’t understand in terms of language, or music that does not have lyrics at all. That’s where the concept of 'music as a universal language' comes into play for me. I don’t have to fully understand what the artist is saying, yet I can tell what they are trying to express.”