On January 5th,  we went to see the three Kings parade called “Los Reyes Magos”  or Cabalatas. This is a major Christian festival in Spain and a highlight for the children. In Alicante, the Three Kings arrive by boat and are greeted by hundreds of Children on the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.

It was a beautiful day and we went to the Volvo museum at 4:30 p.m.  This gave us the perfect vantage point to watch the arrival of the three Kings. We could see the three Kings coming to dock on a Guardia Civil boat.

There were hundreds of children and parents of all ages there waiting to greet them.

Once the three Kings came ashore they walked through the crowd giving small gifts and talking to the children. It was amazing to see how many children were there trying to get a chance to speak to the three Kings.

The three Kings walked slowly through the crowd and it took them almost an entire hour to get out of the marina area. They then went by vehicle escorted by the police to the Plaza de Toros. There the three kings did activities with the children before the start of the Grand Cabalgata at 7 p.m.

We walked along the parade route weaving through the heavy crowds of people until we came to the start of the parade.

There were tens of thousands of people along both sides of the road waiting for a chance to see the three Kings. As the parade moved along there were candy, chocolate bars, gifts and other treats thrown out to the crowd. Children were calling and waving in the hopes of catching some candy or a gift. There was a frenzy of activity with the children grabbing and jumping for candy.

We stopped and watched the parade go by. It took almost three hours for the parade to finish. We were often hit by flying candy and we even caught a few candy for ourselves.

The parade was well-organized and there were lots of police security throughout the parade route. Main routes were secured with tow trucks and police cars blocking the way.

There were police throughout the parade and some walking in the parade. Although there were large crowds, we felt very safe knowing the security was in place.

The newspaper reported that there were over 100,000 people at the parade. We have never experienced a Grand Cabalgata, it was an exciting, and fun event. The emotions of the children and the atmosphere of the crowds made it a very memorable event.

We put a video below of some of the parade and hope you enjoy a snapshot of the Grand Cabalgata.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”

 

 

In Spain, the Christmas tradition is different than in Canada. Here in Spain and in other latin American countries, the holiday season ends on the Epiphany. In Alicante, they have two parades to celebrate the Epiphany. The first parade was on January 4th and began at the Ayuntamiento (City Hall) in Alicante.

We headed down to city hall early to see the start of the parade. People and children were gathering around excited for the start of the parade. There were different parade characters waiting for the parade to start.

We saw different characters walking around and Ray managed to stop and get his picture taken with some of them.

The parade also had different bands and a sleigh with “helpers to the three kings”.

There was also a group from the “Correos”  which is the government postal service in Spain. The parade travels through the main sections of the city collecting letters from children for the Three Kings. The letters contain the children’s wishes and requests for gifts to the Three Kings.

As we waited for the parade to start the “Kings Helpers” stepped out onto the balcony to wave to the crowd.

Shortly before the start of the parade, the “helpers” exit city hall and climb on the sleigh to start the parade.

We watched the parade and enjoyed seeing the children handing in their letters for the Three Kings.  It is a very different tradition from a Christmas parade in Canada. The parade is a prelude to the main parade on January 5th.

“Adios y que tenga un grand dia”