Start the year by letting yourself be carried away by the magic and illusion of the Cavalcade of the Magi in Huelva, one of the oldest in Spain, on January 5. A colourful parade celebrating the arrival of the Three Kings to the city accompanied by the Star of Illusion.
This celebration owes its origin to the initiative of the Agrupación Artística “Álvarez Quintero” in the Christmas of 1921-1922. In one of the theatrical performances of this association was staged the dream of a child who sleeps thinking of the Three Kings; at the end of the representation was requested to those present a donation in cash and a small toy; thus it was announced in the local press that the parade would take place in January 1922.
This first procession was announced with great enthusiasm and anxiety of the children, the itinerary went through much of the downtown area of the city, and the kings appeared on horseback in the Plaza de la Merced to continue along the Paseo de la Independencia, San José, Concepción, till the previously known Hotel Colón -today Casa Colón-, Avenida Italia, Plaza Niña, and Paz, Alfonso XII, Vázquez López, etc. streets. The order of the parade was as follows: trumpet section, Star of the Orient, heralds with flags, Moorish beaters with torches, King Melchior, King Melchior’s entourage, toy bearers, Gaspar and Balthazar, shepherds leading flocks of sheep and townspeople with tambourines, zambombas and drums; also in attendance was the Band of Music. As a complement, the Three Kings visited the schools handing out toys to the children, as well as the hospitals of the capital, and on the sixth day, a tribute was paid to the residents of the Asilo de Ancianos.
In order to carry out this initiative, a popular subscription was made, initiated by the Huelva City Council with 250 pesetas of the time and to which is added the proceeds of the cultural evening held by the Alvarez Quintero Group, also, more than three thousand five hundred toys were collected and the popular collection ended with an amount of 1,537.30 pesetas.
At present, the Cavalcade of the Magi in Huelva maintains basically the same acts. Thus, the procession on the 5th, the visit to the sick and the emotional meeting with the elderly of the Asylum are maintained.
The Huelva Cavalcade has one of the longest routes of all those held in Andalusia, reaching almost all neighborhoods of the capital of Huelva. From noon, the parade runs through the streets of Huelva filling them with music, illusion and, of course, handing out candy for the enjoyment of the little ones of the house and, why not, also for adults. If you are visiting the city you should not miss its passage through XX and the final collection from 21 hours next to the City Hall of Huelva in the Plaza de la Constitución.
The Huelva Cavalcade has one of the longest routes of all those held in Andalusia, reaching almost all neighborhoods of the capital of Huelva. From noon, the parade runs through the streets of Huelva filling them with music, illusion and, of course, handing out candy for the enjoyment of the little ones of the house and, why not, also for adults. If you are visiting the city you should not miss its passage through XX and the final collection from 21 hours next to the City Hall of Huelva in the Plaza de la Constitución.
