Melisa Valdez is a familiar face to any Celtics fan who frequents TD Garden.
Melisa Valdez always dreamed of being in the background, but her talent has put her front and center during these NBA Finals.
As the Celtics’ in-arena host, she is one of the first people fans see on the jumbotron as they take their seats at TD Garden.
She can be seen all over the parquet floor, interviewing players, organizing halftime contests, and pumping up the crowd throughout the game.
“Melisa embodies what it means to be a Bostonian,” said Nicole Federico, senior vice president of marketing and content for the Celtics. “She has been instrumental to the Celtics brand by authentically connecting with our fans both locally and globally.”
It was her love for dance that propelled her on this path. When she was younger, she would gather her friends in her mother’s living room and pretend to choreograph dance routines to Destiny’s Child songs.
From family parties to school discos, Valdez always found a way to keep moving.
He moved to the United States at age 5 after being born in the Dominican Republic. She spent her early years in New Jersey and Orlando, Florida.
“Melisa (above) embodies what it means to be a Bostonian,” said Nicole Federico, senior vice president of marketing and content for the Celtics.
Most of his family lived in Massachusetts, so he moved here after high school. She now considers Boston home.
“After I graduated high school, I wanted to be a professional background dancer,” Valdez said. “So when I moved to Massachusetts, I started getting involved in going to auditions in Boston and going to New York with my friends.
“We’d get in a car and if there was an open call, we’d say, ‘Hey, there’s an open call for Beyoncé,’ and we’d drive there or get on the Fung Wah bus. If you know it, you know it. “We would get on the bus, audition, and go back to our normal lives.”
She met a close friend, Lisa Bello, at an audition for the Pussycat Dolls. Bello, who occasionally sings the national anthem at Celtics games, was there to sing and Valdez was there in leggings and a matching crop top with big, bold, curly hair, auditioning to dance.
“She has a presence that makes her seem larger than life,” Bello said. “Although I also have a personality, I didn’t know anyone. I just walked towards her anyway because she has a gravitating presence.
“She started doing her thing like, ‘Come on guys, we should do this, this and that,’ and that made me go, ‘Wow, this girl is cool and I want to be friends with her.’ ‘She’s just a light, when you see her walk into the room, you think I need to know who she is and I need to be a part of that too.’
Valdez became a dance instructor, teaching hip-hop and Latin dance classes. She later added Zumba courses to her repertoire.
Her presenting career began five years ago, when Celtics DJ Brek One approached her to see if she would be interested in hosting the Red Bull “Dance Your Style” competition.
She did the job and fell in love with the role. As she posted clips on social media, she got more referrals to host dance events in the city. When the Celtics had an opportunity, Brek One recommended it.
“This was when we were still locked down (due to COVID) and I think we were planning to return to the Garden with masks,” Valdez said. “One day he texted me and said, ‘I just had a meeting with the Celtics about you.’ I was like ‘Wait, what?’
“I was very calm about it. He didn’t want to exaggerate too much. I was like, ‘Hey, let it be God’s will.’ If this is for me, it will come.”
The opportunity came and Valdez hosted his first Celtics game with a mask on his face. She was honored to be chosen by the Celtics. It was one of those “pinch me” moments.
“Living in Boston and being able to work for the Celtics is a great honor,” Valdez said. “I was already a basketball fan, so having the opportunity to represent this organization has been the most fun.”
Earlier this season, a Uruguayan family with a couple of children attended a game at TD Garden. The boy was holding a Jayson Tatum sign and his sister was holding a Valdez sign.
It said: “We have traveled more than 6 thousand miles to meet you Melisa Valdez.”
“My eyes filled with tears,” Valdez said. “It was a very emotional moment for me because I was able to speak with her in Spanish. Representation is really important and knowing that a young woman who lives thousands of miles away is inspired by me is a beautiful feeling.”
Valdez has become a unique and familiar voice of TD Garden as he continues to carve out a niche for himself with the Celtics.
“If I were talking about music, she has a contralto voice,” Bello said. “She and I have very low, hoarse voices. She is able to play this voice from the belly of her, especially at the beginning of the game when she yells, ‘Let’s go, Celtics!’
“I always film his opening and look around, and from what I’ve seen, women specifically are very excited to hear that coming from his voice. She has the voice for it, she has the charisma and she has the presence. When she says the words, she makes people emotional.”
Charging…
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