'Three Kings' at Los Cristianos
Bus Route: 483[Los Cristanos, P Americas Est). Return: 483[El Medano].
In Spain and the Canaries traditionally children are given their presents on the festival of the 'Three Kings' which takes place on the night of the 'Epiphany' on the 5th January. The equivalent of our '12th night' which was the final Christmas feast until banned by the Victorians. The 'Three Kings' arrive on camels and parade through the streets as part of a procession of bands, entertainers and children in costume. They throw sweets to the children as they go and this is a major event in all towns and villages thought the large cities such as Los Cristianos and Santa Cruz (where the 'Kings' arrive by helecopter) draw crowds from the surrounding areas. It is becoming a problem for parents in these austere times as the advent of the global 'village' led by American TV programs and corporate adversing persuade children that presents also arrive on Christmas Eve.
Not knowing precisely when the parade started or where we caught the 843 in plenty of time to be able to walk down to the bay and sit in an open cafe with a cool drink. From this vantage point I took some photos of the preparations in case I couldn't get near later. I knew that the event would start around 19:00 hours as it starts to get dark then and also found out that the procession ran from the harbour along the street behind the bay and up to the municipal cultural centre. I had taken some photos of the preparations there on the way down. After refreshments we walked up the hill past the harbour to what seemed to be a good vantage point. As things are always flexible out here the parade stated at around 20:30 hours which had allowed a good crowd to build up in front of us however I did manage to capture some of the atmosphere before following the procession up the hill and into the town. As is usual I found another good vantage point and, if I had remembered to change my lens sooner, managed to get some shots of the parade. In all of these albums I try to capture the 'flavour' of the place or event to give the experience of being there. At the same time I try not to interfere with other peoples enjoyment especially those whom the occasion is intended for.
The procession moved on ending in the square. No boarded up fountains here, I was encouraged by one of the locals to stand on a small wall with a metal bar fence about knee high on it the better to photograph the event. When I looked down after quite a time I saw that there was a 30ft drop on the other side as steps led down to the car park. I held on to the street sign after that. All adds to the fun. In the square dancers and groups perform for the 'Three Kings' before they receive gifts from children who (translation may be wrong) represent various groups and charities who have collected gifts for children who are less well off, in hospital etc and will be distributed later. The event finishes with a firework display before the children queue up to give their letters or whisper wishes to the 'Three Kings' hoping they will be lucky that night. As always we, and other parents retreated to the open air cafes for a coffee, or beer if you prefer, and snack.
In Spain and the Canaries traditionally children are given their presents on the festival of the 'Three Kings' which takes place on the night of the 'Epiphany' on the 5th January. The equivalent of our '12th night' which was the final Christmas feast until banned by the Victorians. The 'Three Kings' arrive on camels and parade through the streets as part of a procession of bands, entertainers and children in costume. They throw sweets to the children as they go and this is a major event in all towns and villages thought the large cities such as Los Cristianos and Santa Cruz (where the 'Kings' arrive by helecopter) draw crowds from the surrounding areas. It is becoming a problem for parents in these austere times as the advent of the global 'village' led by American TV programs and corporate adversing persuade children that presents also arrive on Christmas Eve.Not knowing precisely when the parade started or where we caught the 843 in plenty of time to be able to walk down to the bay and sit in an open cafe with a cool drink. From this vantage point I took some photos of the preparations in case I couldn't get near later. I knew that the event would start around 19:00 hours as it starts to get dark then and also found out that the procession ran from the harbour along the street behind the bay and up to the municipal cultural centre. I had taken some photos of the preparations there on the way down. After refreshments we walked up the hill past the harbour to what seemed to be a good vantage point. As things are always flexible out here the parade stated at around 20:30 hours which had allowed a good crowd to build up in front of us however I did manage to capture some of the atmosphere before following the procession up the hill and into the town. As is usual I found another good vantage point and, if I had remembered to change my lens sooner, managed to get some shots of the parade. In all of these albums I try to capture the 'flavour' of the place or event to give the experience of being there. At the same time I try not to interfere with other peoples enjoyment especially those whom the occasion is intended for.The procession moved on ending in the square. No boarded up fountains here, I was encouraged by one of the locals to stand on a small wall with a metal bar fence about knee high on it the better to photograph the event. When I looked down after quite a time I saw that there was a 30ft drop on the other side as steps led down to the car park. I held on to the street sign after that. All adds to the fun. In the square dancers and groups perform for the 'Three Kings' before they receive gifts from children who (translation may be wrong) represent various groups and charities who have collected gifts for children who are less well off, in hospital etc and will be distributed later. The event finishes with a firework display before the children queue up to give their letters or whisper wishes to the 'Three Kings' hoping they will be lucky that night. As always we, and other parents retreated to the open air cafes for a coffee, or beer if you prefer, and snack.
(Note: I am trying to take you to the first photo of the update but this seems rather temperamental as does the slideshow in some browsers. Google Chrome and Firefox appear to work but IE seems to have problems.)
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