Pyro Spectaculars

Pyro Spectaculars is headquartered in Rialto, California and occupies a portion of a former World War II military munitions facility. The site was also operated by various defense contractors and fireworks companies prior to Pyro Spectaculars taking over a portion of the larger convert|160|acre|km2|sing=on site in 1979. The site was convenient to nearby explosives bunkers built by the military. Only one of those bunkers remains as of 2007, and it is no longer in use for the storage of fireworks.

Pyro Spectaculars conducts a series of pyrotechnics classes and seminars at this site, which are collectively known as Pyro University. Pyro Spectaculars is one of the largest and most prolific designers and producers of fireworks displays in the United States. The current President and CEO is James Souza.

Beginnings

The company was founded in 1979 by Robert Souza, the son of Portuguese immigrant Manuel "The Parrot" Souza, who was a well-known pyrotechnician in San Francisco during the 1900s. It was Manuel's brilliantly-colored fireworks that earned him his peculiar nickname.

pecialty

The company's fireworks displays are characterized by tight musical choreography with an emphasis on medium and low-level effects such as: cakes, fountains and Roman candles, and a particular fondness for "set pieces".

Notable Events

Pyro Spectaculars is responsible for the annual Macy's 4th of July Spectacular fireworks display in New York City, several recurring shows at stadiums, and has even been contracted by film crews to design shows for movies. The company's largest film contract was for the 1998 film "Meet Joe Black", which made such an impression on star Brad Pitt that he later hired Pyro Spectaculars to produce a fireworks display for his wedding to Jennifer Aniston. In the 2008 New Year celebration in Seattle, the show encountered problems due to a computer glitch. As a result, the fireworks had to be set off manually by the staff on site cite web
url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/345650_fireworks02.html
title=Computer glitch put hitch in fireworks
quote=Technicians set off commands by hand for Space Needle event
work=Seattle Post Intelligencer
date=2008-01-01
accessdate=2008-01-04] .Other significant shows include:
* 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece
* 2002 Winter Olympics, Salt Lake City
* 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta
* 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles
* World Cup '94
* Statue of Liberty 100th Anniversary
* 50th Birthdays of Golden Gate and Oakland Bridges
* President Ronald Reagan's inauguration in Washington
* Seattle Space Needle New Year's Fireworks: 1992-Present
* World Wrestling Entertainment Pyro: 2008-Present [ [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080301125311AAxLL2 Yahoo! Answers - This question has been deleted ] ]

Related Links

[http://www.pyrospectaculars.com/ Official Website]
[http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/345650_fireworks02.html Computer glitch put hitch in fireworks]
[http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080301125311AAxLL2q WWE uses Pyro Spectacular as their Pyro supplier]

References