Caribbean Matters: Come celebrate the Three Kings!

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While most folks on the U.S. mainland have said goodbye to the Christmas holiday season and the Santas, reindeer, and decorated trees, festivities continue throughout the Caribbean and Latin-American diaspora. In the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, “El Día de Los Tres Reyes Magos” is a major holiday tradition, with songs, food, and parades. The holiday honors the Three Kings—Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior—the biblical astrologers or Wise Men who “traveled afar” following a star that led them to the birthplace of a holy child born in a manger.

RELATED STORY: Celebrating Three Kings Day, or Día de los Reyes Magos

Caribbean Matters is a weekly series from Daily Kos. If you are unfamiliar with the region, check out Caribbean Matters: Getting to know the countries of the Caribbean.

The music and art associated with Three Kings Day, also known as the Feast of the Epiphany or the 12th Day of Christmas, features the Magi and symbolic gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Puerto Rican artists usually depict the wise men riding horses, rather than camels, and the Black king Melchior is almost always shown on a white horse.

The tradition of venerating the Magi, or Los Reyes Magos (the Three Kings), in Puerto Rico originated in medieval Europe, where the figures were included in Nativity scenes. Puerto Ricans celebrate Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, when families get together and children receive gifts from Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Many santeros, who carve wooden images of saints, create sculptures of the kings, even though they are not technically viewed as saints.

Discover Puerto Rico takes you to visit the home of the Three Kings:

Although the biblical stories specify these Magi arrive from the Orient following a star, the Magi in Puerto Rico helm from the south of the Island, specifically from the town of Juana Díaz. Every January 6th, the municipality hosts the longest-standing and most visited Three Kings Day festival on the Island, celebrated for over 130 years.

There, you'll find local artisans, food stalls, and lively music. However, the festival's main attraction is the arrival of the Magi of Juana Díaz riding horseback and leading a parade through the town. They hand out presents and candy to all the children at the festival and become part of a huge "block party." If you're arriving after this day, you can still visit the Museo de los Tres Santos Reyes, a place dedicated exclusively to the history of these figures.

Here’s the 2020 celebration from Juana Diaz (2021 was cancelled due to COVID-19):

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In the English-, Dutch-, and French-speaking Caribbean, Three Kings Day is also a major holiday. Give a listen to “The Crown Prince of Reggae” Dennis Brown, who recorded a version of “We Three Kings” with a Jamaican beat.

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The Caribbean diaspora in the UK represents the holiday with steelpan from The Mighty Jamma:

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Here on the U.S. mainland, the largest celebration of Three Kings Day takes place in New York City, the home of El Museo del Barrio, which holds a Three Kings festival and parade each year. This year’s Three Kings Parade is represented by a poster from Puerto Rican artist Tanya Torres.

El Museo’s 46th Annual Three Kings Day Parade and Celebration, Friday, January 6, 2023 https://t.co/NwBnqegKv3 pic.twitter.com/JhVd1wBAcz

— Denise Oliver-Velez ? (@Deoliver47) January 2, 2023

Torres shares her story and inspiration:

I grew up in Puerto Rico in the 70s, the daughter of two young idealists who aspired to creating a better world of justice and equality, granddaughter of two grandfathers who composed songs and rhymes, and of a grandmother who sew clothes, and of a great grandmother who made a quilt of little scraps of fabric. My families were poor and lived in the countryside of the towns of San German and Guayanilla, but my parents were lucky and smart, and both left at 16 to study in the University of Puerto Rico and then to New York, where I was born.

Soon after we three returned to the island, where I would have gladly remain for the rest of my life. There we celebrated Los Reyes, who each year brought us 3 gifts if we left some grass and water for their camels. We placed these important items in shoe boxes, and went to sleep hopeful to wake up to our heart’s desires fulfilled. The Three Kings continued coming for 15 years, until they lost track of my brother and I upon our arrival in New York. That first January 6th was a sad day, especially because we had to go to school and forget who we had been. The longing in my heart was immense and it was so overwhelming that I had to forget all about the Three Kings for the next 12 years.

Then one day, I was in my new old home on Lexington Avenue, where I had recently moved and where my baby arrived from being born in the hospital. I really want to say ¨where my boy as born, but it wouldn´t be accurate! In reality, I don’t remember the year exactly, and I´m no longer sure if I was actually holding my son, because when I heard music and commotion, I looked out the large picture window of my second floor apartment, and I saw camels, and sheep, children, people marching, and finally, the Three Kings. And I cried remembering a happy childhood memory. It was El Museo’s Annual Three Kings Parade marching down Lexington Avenue.

Here’s a look at some of the events at El Museo from last year:

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Feliz Día de Los Reyes!

Join me in the 2023 Tres Reyes festivities in the comment section below and check out the weekly Caribbean New Roundup.