Traditionally, the Three Kings arrive in Torrevieja by boat, and this year was no exception, however the craft they used was rather different to normal, travelling on the Pascual Flores, the “pailebota”, or pilot boat, which has been open to tourist visits throughout the holiday season and until the end of this month.
Arriving at the port, via the fish market, their Majesties met with the Torrevieja dignitaries, including the Mayor, Eduardo Dolon, and councillor for fiestas, Rosario Martinez, before being whisked away to start the parade through the town.
With an entourage of around 400 people and more than half a dozen floats, the starting point was the Levante Dam in the south of the town, continuing through the streets of Ramon y Cajal and Zoa, before they had a little taste of home at the Plaza de Oriente, before continuing along Ramon Gallud to reach the main square, where King Melchor spoke to the eager crowds.
The whole parade was accompanied by music, as one might expect in a town like Torrevieja, led by the Ciudad de Torrevieja-Los Salerosos Musical Society, and King Herod was accompanied by Roman soldiers, some on horseback.
The Three Kings also carried out a much smaller parade in La Mata.
In Orihuela the first stop for the Three Wise Men on Thursday was their traditional visit to the boys and girls who are currently patients in the Vega Baja Hospital, where each was given a gift, then on Friday they were received by the mayor of Orihuela, Pepe Vegara, at the town hall, where, during a civic reception, they were given the keys to the city, so that it would be easier for them to make their obligatory visit to all the houses, loaded with their gifts.
After receiving the children’s letters at the “Atanasio Die” Circus Theatre, their Majesties paraded through the city and in the Orihuela Costa.
The parade on the coast, like that in the urban centre, was equally austere. There were no big floats, no pretentious costumes, but there was one surprise with the Councillor for the Coast, Manuel Mestre, donning the costume of King Melchior who, along with Gaspar and Baltasar, travelled through the streets on horseback. The reins of Melchior’s horse were held by his footman, in the guise of CLARO President, Antonio Cerdán.
Not quite as magical as in previous years, the parade was played out in front of large crowds along C/Nicolas de Bussi before it arrived at the commercial heart of the Orihuela Costa, the macro shopping centre of La Zenia Boulevard, where the Three Wise Men greeted thousands of residents and delighted children of a multitude of origins and nationalities.
And from the multicultural diversity of the coast to the traditions of the interior across the extensive geography of Oriola. Much more modest but equally as enthusiastic were parades in las pedanías of La Murada, Hurchillo, Arneva, Virgen del Camino, San Bartolomé, Torremendo, Molins, La Matanza and Desamparados.
