The 89th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade had the highest number of police officers securing the route in its history.

NBC reports there were more than 2,500 officers stationed along the parade route.

Gloria Estefan of the 1980s Latin pop group Miami Sound Machine got the parade started by belting out classic hits such as “Conga” and “Turn the Beat Around.” In many ways Estefan was the perfect performer to highlight American success during this quintessential U.S. holiday event, as the singer’s family came to the U.S. after fleeing from Castro’s Cuba back in 1960.

Speaking to Stephen Colbert during “The Late Show” on the day before her performance, the 58-year-old entertainer, who was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom said that her father brought her family to the U.S. so that they could be raised in a land of freedom. According to Entertainment Weekly, the singer spoke of the many dangers Cubans still face while trying to leave the communist country by raft.

“It’s bad,” she said, “You don’t see anybody fleeing the United States.”

Estefan was particularly poignant when discussing the situation of Syrian refugees coming to the U.S. from their war-torn country. “I have an emotional reaction, but I have a human reaction as well,” she replied. “We all have to be careful, obviously we’re living in very dangerous times.”

The singer brought up the sobering history of how Jewish refugees were turned away from Cuba as well as the U.S. during WWII. “We can’t let that happen,” said Estefan.

Aside from Estefan, parade watchers got to see Broadway show cast members perform songs from musicals like “Something Rotten!” and “Finding Neverland.”

There were a dozen marching bands, and around 1,000 dancers, as well as huge Hello Kitty and Angry Birds balloons. Mariah Carey delighted the Thanksgiving throngs with her rendition of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

New York officials estimated nearly 3.5 million spectators would turn out for the parade.