Image courtesy of Valencia City Hall archives.
NOTE: This article was originally published in Spanish and translated with permission. https://www.valenciabonita.es/2022/11/21/cabalgata-de-reyes-magos-de-2023-de-valencia/
- Three Kings Parade in the city of Valencia takes place on January 5, 2023. The reception to the 3 Wise Men begins at 4:30 pm in La Marina and the parade is set to start at 6:00 pm from Avenida Navarro Reverter.
- This year, Valencia brings back its traditional Three Kings Parade with the usual route and protocol. Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar will arrive in the city on the afternoon of the 5th to meet with the Valencian children and distribute their gifts. The City Hall will host the grand reception for the Magi of the East, who will arrive in the city by sea, and will travel through the main streets of the city center in a parade that will be accompanied by floats, dancers, recreations of historical Valencian characters and the Star of the East, along with other protagonists of the festival as the page boy Miquel, the messenger Caterina, Mr. Carbo, Dolça and the candy factory, the astronomer Perseida or Trapatroles becari. The parade will be held under the general motto “Mission Valencia City Neutral”.
As in previous years, the Three Kings Parade will be held under a global theme that will define the character and staging of the whole parade. On this occasion, and with an eye on the Valencia 2030 Missions that our city is promoting with the aim of becoming a climate-neutral city, the motto chosen is “Mission Valencia Neutral City”. Children and adults will be able to enjoy the arrival of the Three Wise Men without losing sight of the importance of committing to habits and attitudes of respect for the environment, and for sustainable and responsible consumption.
This year’s 2023 Three Kings Parade in Valencia will be dedicated to the Valencia Neutral City mission, included in the Valencia 2030 Missions framework, which aims to mitigate the climate emergency through action in fields such as food, energy consumption, mobility, proximity consumption or green areas.
According to the rules, candy floats distributing candy, must have a certificate that the candy is suitable for coeliacs. In addition, they must avoid throwing the candy with force to avoid possible injuries, as well as near the parading vehicles to prevent spectators from crossing the road, with the subsequent danger to children and other persons.
This was explained by the Councillor for Festive Culture, Carlos Galiana, who invited all citizens, especially children, to enjoy the arrival of Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar to the city. “The presence of the Three Wise Men in Valencia is an ideal opportunity to send a message to families about the importance of educating and raising awareness about the effect of people’s actions in areas such as food, mobility, or energy consumption”, explained the councilman. In addition, said the councilman, “we know that this year the Three Wise Men are more eager than ever to come to Valencia because this is precisely where they have decided to install La Central, the space where they have managed and coordinated all the reception of letters, have wrapped all the gifts and have reviewed the addresses of all the children to get them what they are waiting for, if they have been good boys and girls, of course,” he stressed.
The parade – after the failed and controversial attempts of 2022 in the Plaza de Toros of Valencia, and the no parade in 2021 limited to a simple and unique official reception for health reasons with a bus tour that was to be secret and ended with crowds in front of the Town Hall, -, will have the usual itinerary prior to 2020. Therefore, with a concentration in the Paseo de la Alameda (before, the arrival by boat of the Three Wise Men at the port of the Marina of Valencia) and starting in the Avenida de Navarro Reverter continuing along the streets of General Palanca, General Tovar, Calle de la Paz, Plaza de la Reina, San Vicente, and Plaza del Ayuntamiento, ending at Marqués de Sotelo. As a final act, as has been customary in previous years, it is expected that the Three Wise Men will end with a speech to the public from the balcony of the City Hall of Valencia.
The Three Wise Men of Valencia in 2023 will be those of the 2021 non-parade: Guillermo Serrano (President of the Interagrupación de Fallas de Valencia, who will embody Melchior); Felipe de los Ángeles (a local policeman of Valencia and fallero who will represent Gaspar); and Oumaro Djakité (Mercado Central shopkeeper who will play Balthazar).
The parade includes the participation of 14 organizations and institutions, and a total of 21 artistic companies and musical groups, four of them coming from France. All of them will offer a show of dance, music, magic, lights, and colors – divided into different sections and coordinated by La Fam, the company in charge of the artistic direction. The historical “cabezudos” and “gigantes” of the city will take part in the parade, together with other representations such as the Star of the Orient, the Angel announcing the Nativity, the Royal Astronomer, the Messenger Caterina and the royal letter carriers, the royal coal shop with Senyor Carbó, the page boy Miquel, Dolça and the candy factory, the astronomer Perseids or the fellow, Trapatroles, a new character that has been incorporated this year.
This year there will be no sale of seats to enjoy the parade in the streets.
Three Royal Floats accompanied by an entourage of dancers and flags.
The Three Wise Men’s floats: King Melchior’s float (blue), King Gaspar’s float (red) and King Balthazar’s float (green), each of them preceded by their entourage of dancers and standard bearers, each one led by their royal captains. The float-bed ‘Al llit’, designed by Marina Puche, will close the parade, inviting the little ones to go to bed early, and dream of toys.
Attendees will be able to watch the procession on two screens that will be installed in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, on both sides of the City Hall building (on the corners of the streets Periodista Azzati and Sangre). On the balcony, the theater group Maduixa Teatre will animate the arrival of the procession with their show “Pop’s Corn”. All this will be narrated in sign language from the screens and, in parallel, the parade will also be told through the institutional social networks of the City Council.
