January 5, 2023 will be a day that the city of Marchena will never forget. During the celebration of the Three Kings parade, one of the tractors that pulled the last float, of King Baltasar, lost its brakes on a sloping street and ran over several people, including a 72-year-old woman who lost her life after saving two children and slip and fall to the ground, and 11 people were injured, most of the music band that was in front of the tractor, of which one child and one adult were seriously injured but have now been discharged from the hospital and are all right. (The original information was of two seriously injured children but it has been denied).
In Spain, the tradition of the parade of kings began more than a century and a half ago, in 1866 in Alcoy (Alicante). It is a day full of magic and excitement, especially for children, since after the parade the children go to look for their gifts from the kings, which are the Spanish version of Santa Claus.
The day of the Epiphany, 6th of January, is tradition to eat the Roscón de Reyes, a donut-like ring cake, usually stuffed with cream, with two hidden little treats. The one who finds the bean pays the cake, who finds the figure gets crowned.
In the Christian tradition, the Magi from the East –Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar– attended the birth of Jesus Christ to bring him gifts –gold, myrrh and incense.
Some photos from the parade:
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