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SPANISH TRADITIONS

The best Three Kings events and parades around Spain

Christmas isn't over in Spain yet, as most Spanish children know – that's because on the night of January 5th. Here are the best Kings' parades around Spain including timings and the routes they'll take.

The best Three Kings events and parades around Spain
The best Kings' Day parades in Spain. Photo: GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP

On the evening of January 5th, many cities across Spain will transform into magical scenes when the Kings Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar are welcomed with elaborate parades ready to distribute presents throughout the night.

Due to the pandemic, parades in most cities were cancelled in 2021 and events in 2022 were low-key or smaller than usual, so this year is the first time in the last couple of years that the processions will be back to normal. 

Barcelona

The official kings’ toy factory has reopened this year in Barcelona and will open for visits until Wednesday, January 4th. It’s located at the old Fabra i Coats factory in the district of Sant Andreu and will delight children with displays of lights, colours and lots of magic. It’s open every night until the 4th from 5pm to 9pm.

The cabalgata or Kings’ parade will also be back on this year, albeit with slight changes to the route, due to road works taking place on Via Laietana. The kings will arrive at Portal de la Pau by boat at 4pm and will be welcomed by the mayor, before beginning the parade at 6pm. This year it will pass by Paseo de Colom and continue along Parallel before going along the Sant Pau ring road and Calle Urgell. It will end at the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc.  

READ ALSO: Why Spain loves the Three Kings more than Santa

Madrid

During the morning of January 5th, there will be celebrations for children at Puerta del Sol, where 10,000 portions of Roscón de Reyes or Kings’ cake will be given out for free, along with mugs of hot chocolate.

The main parade will begin in the evening at 6:30pm from Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz. It will continue down Paseo de la Castellana to the Plaza de Cibeles, where they will arrive at 8:45pm to talk to the children of the city, before they head out to distribute their gifts. 

Valencia

The traditional Reyes parade will return to Valencia this year after the cancellation of the 2021 edition and a change of venue to the Plaza del Toros in 2022. This year the parade will begin at 6pm when the kings arrive at the Puerto de la Marina. It will then continue down Paseo de la Alameda and pass along some of the most important streets in the city before ending at Calle Marqués de Sotelo. The kings will then address the public from the balcony of the town hall.

Like in Barcelona, Valencia also has a toy factory. This year it takes place in the Parque Central de Valencia until January 4th from 11am to 8:15pm each night.

San Sebastian

In San Sebastián, the kings will arrive at the Tabakalera Centre of Contemporary Culture on Plaza de las Cigarreras in the morning at 10:30am and talk the children of the city from the main balcony. They will then proceed to visit various neighbourhoods around the city including Plaza Sagastieder at 10:55am, Parque Harria de Altza at 11:25am, Plaza Maria Zambrano at 12:25pm, Plaza José María Sert at 1:25pm and finish up at the Ayuntamiento (town hall) at 2pm. 

From 3:30pm until 5:30pm, children can go to the town hall to deliver their letters to the kings, as well as receive candy that will be given out for free. The main parade will begin at 6pm with a total of five floats and tour around the centre of the city, starting at ending at Boulevard. 

Málaga

The kings are due to arrive at the Ayuntamiento (town hall) in Málaga at 5:30pm on January 5th and will begin their parade around the city at 6pm. The route will continue along Avenida de Cervantes, followed by Plaza General Torrijos, Paseo del Parque, Plaza de la Marina, Alameda Principal, Puente de Tetuán, Calle Nazareno del Paso, Calle Hilera, Puente de la Esperanza, Calle Prim, Calle Atarazanas, Calle Puerta del Mar, Alameda Principal, Plaza de la Marina and finally Cortina del Muelle. For the last part the Kings will continue on foot down Calle Molina Lario, until they reach the Plaza del Obispo, where they will bring their traditional offerings to the baby Jesus on the steps of the main door of the Cathedral.

Later, there will be a concert by the Orfeón Choir from the University of Málaga. Kids will be happy to know that the throwing of sweets will return this year and throughout the route there will be a total of 12,000 kilos of them.  

Seville

After the suspension of the kings’ parade in 2021 and a smaller alternative one in 2022, the main traditional event in Seville will return in all its splendour in 2023. It will begin at 4:30pm when the kings will leave the old Fábrica de Tabacos and the procession will travel along some of the city’s most iconic streets and areas such as Feria, Trajano, Campana, Triana and los Remedios. It will end at 10pm when they reach Calle Palos de la Frontera and the University of Seville.

The kings will be accompanied by 33 carriages, seven musical bands and around 3,000 of their entourage. The parade will be around 1.5km long and last approximately 45 minutes.

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

A quick guide to Alicante’s Hogueras de San Juan festival

Alicante will soon celebrate the arrival of summer with Las Hogueras de San Juan, the biggest festival of the year in the Costa Blanca city.

A quick guide to Alicante's Hogueras de San Juan festival

From June 20th-24th the whole city of Alicante explodes into a joyous rumpus of colour and light, where the main protagonist is fire.

Many cities in Spain have a fascination with fire around the festival of San Juan (Saint John) and Alicante is no different. Expect hordes of firecrackers, ear-splitting explosives, crackling bonfires, and of course hundreds of colourful fireworks lighting up the sky with fiery rain.

READ ALSO: Goats, horses and fire: the weird ways Spain celebrates San Juan

The event has a lot in common with Valencia’s more famous Fallas Festival, which takes place in March each year, yet it also has its origins in the summer solstice celebrations.

Alicante’s Hogueras festival has elements of Valencia’s Fallas traditions. Photo: JOSE JORDAN / AFP

 

The festival in Alicante began as a way for people to burn objects they no longer had any use for ahead of the summer season, making way for the new, and officially became a city celebration in 1928.

During the day, from June 21st- 22nd, parades take place through the city streets with locals dressed in traditional costumes, playing folk tunes and sometimes carrying elaborate religious statues. The main event is the ofrenda de Flores a la Virgen del Remedio, where flowers are taken as offerings to the Cathedral, where they get turned into huge floral images on the façade.

Each day at 2pm, there is a frenzy of noise, ground-shaking explosions and plumes of smoke white smoke during what’s known as the Mascletà in the Plaza de los Luceros, and by night there are carnival-like parades such as the Cabalgata del Ninot.

An ornate “hoguera” is set alight in Alicante. Photo: JOSE JORDAN / STR / AFP

A Carnival-like queen is selected from eager participants, called the bellea del foc or the Beauty of the Fire and elaborate costumes are worn. 

The highlight of these series of celebrations are the hogueras themselves, like Valencia’s fallas – huge cardboard and papier-mâché colouful sculptures, depicting fairytales, folklore and mystical legends, as well as political satire.

Bonfires on the beach during the San Juan celebrations in Alicante. Photo: JOSE JORDAN / STR / AFP

These sculptures are placed all over the city, until the culmination of the celebration on June 24th. At midnight explosives are attached to each hoguera and they are simultaneously set alight in a spectacular display known as the night of the “Cremà” or burning.

When each has burned to almost cinders, the city’s fight fighters come out with their hoses to douse everything in water, including the crowds who come in their bathing suits ready to take part in the communal “Banyà” and to cool down after a hot night of fire.

A man jumps over a bonfire during the annual San Juan celebrations at a beach in Alicante. (Photo by JOSE JORDAN / AFP)

This is accompanied by riotous beach parties and beach bonfires, when locals aim to jump over the flames in order to ward off negative spirits, bring good luck and then cleanse themselves and wash away their sins with a dip in the sea. 

But, the fiesta is far from over, as from June 25-29 right after Las Hogueras a jubilant firework competition takes place on El Postiguet beach

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