The cavalcades of the Magi they returned to the streets of much of Spain this Wednesday, starting with Madrid and Barcelona, but always with Mandatory mask, limited number of participants and attendees and other measures such as longer routes or without distribution of candy, depending on the place.
However, at the height of the sixth wave of coronavirus infections, which is advancing without restraint, the city of Bilbao (north) decided to suspend the parade for health reasons, something that already happened last year in practically the entire country due to the epidemic.
In Santiago de Compostela (northwest), the celebration consisted of a reception with Their Majesties; and in Valencia (east), Murcia (southeast) or Vigo (northwest), the parade was “static”, in a limited space and with capacity restrictions.
Illuminated and colorful floats, dancers, jugglers, musicians and characters and fantasy animals accompanied the Kings, despite unpleasant winter weather, with rain in Madrid and other cities.
Everything so that children and adults could contemplate, between excited and hopeful, the Wizards from the East in full dress a few hours before they distribute millions of toys and many others present on January 6, feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.
And also a multitude of good wishes, especially for health and work, so necessary in these times of covid.
Prevent contagion
On this occasion, the Kings had to adapt to the different contagion prevention measures decided by local authorities.
In this way, They could not distribute candies or other sweets in Madrid, San Sebastián (north) or Badajoz (west), although they did in Seville and Malaga (south). In Valencia, eating or drinking was not allowed during the “static” parade, in the city’s bullring. On the contrary, in Vitoria and San Sebastián the parade route was extended to expand the space and thus reduce the concentration of The same happened in Granada (south).
In the region of Catalonia (Northeast), the wind instrument musicians had to wear the mask when they were not playing, and in some locality of Extremadura (West) the presence of children in the floats was prohibited. In the region of Andalusia (south), the cavalcades ran through wider avenues to avoid crowds.
The oldest in Spain, Alcoy (east), has been held since 1875, but had to be suspended in 2020. This year, The children will not be able to offer food or hug the royal pages, who will go up again tonight to the balconies of the houses to deliver the gifts.
Madrid and Barcelona
The Madrid parade, one of the most spectacular and widely followed on television, ran the usual route to the Palacio de Cibeles, the seat of the City Council. It was inspired by the ‘Car of the Magi‘, the oldest preserved theatrical text in the Spanish language.
The floats didn’t deliver candy this time to guarantee the safety distance between the assistants. Seats to watch the parade in the capital of Spain, which includes a fireworks show, were limited to 7,000, all previously reserved online.
Also Catalonia this year he recovered the face-to-face celebrations, although with rules such as the mandatory use of a mask for those over 6 years of age.
The parade from Barcelona (northeast), the Catalan capital, returned to the usual streets. Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar arrived by boat to this Spanish Mediterranean city, as is tradition.
Before they had taken a helicopter to visit Logroño (north), because there are many kilometers they have to travel to reach all the homes on time.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.