This is the (new) route of the Three Kings Parade in Girona

GironaThis year, the Three Kings will make some minor changes to their route to improve traffic flow in the city center. The parade will begin, as usual, at the royal encampment in Devesa Park at 6 p.m., from where the floats will depart towards the Eixample district. This year, however, instead of passing through the Poet Marquina Square From Ronda Sant Antoni Maria Claret, next to the train station, the procession will turn onto Carrer Santa Eugenia towards Plaça Marquès de Camps and Gran Via. There, it will resume its previous route along Avinguda de Sant Francesc, Carrer Santa Clara, and finally arrive around 8 p.m. in Plaça 1 d'Octubre, which, since the pandemic, has replaced the much narrower final reception in Plaça de l'Ajuntament (City Hall Square).

The new route was agreed upon between the Girona City Council and the Manaies de Girona brotherhood, the entity in charge of organizing the parade, with the aim of minimizing the impact on traffic and facilitating the passage of emergency vehicles, as the previous route was congested. The first traffic disruptions will begin around 3:30 p.m. in the Güell area, and until 9 p.m., streets will be closed in the Eixample and Mercadal districts. Access to parking areas located along the parade route will also be prohibited from early afternoon.

For the fourth consecutive year, King Melchior, King Gaspar, and King Balthazar will travel the route on pedal-powered floats, without the use of horses to avoid stressing the animals. During the parade, there will also be reserved spaces for people with reduced mobility and a low-stimulus zone for neurodivergent individuals. And, to fill everyone's bellies, the royal entourages will distribute sweets (more than a ton) and thousands of chocolates made by Girona-based pastry chef Jordi Roca throughout the festivities. In addition, at the encampments, the blond king's cooks will offer hot chocolate and exotic canapés.

Previous activities and critiques of 'blackface'

The arrival of the Three Kings in Girona, however, will begin preparations days before January 5th. To guide Their Majesties to the Devesa encampment, on January 2nd, the magician Naj-Mandin will light the Star of Bethlehem on the cathedral steps. Then, on January 2nd and 3rd, lantern-making workshops will be organized in various locations throughout the city so that children will have everything ready for the night of the 5th. Throughout the week, the royal pages will visit different neighborhoods to collect letters of wishes and greet the children.

Beyond the change of route, this year's Girona parade has once again been marked by the cases of blackface in King Balthazar's entourage. A situation that, once again, has sparked complaints from the city's Afro-descendant community, which a few weeks ago She filed a complaint at the City Hall's House of Non-Discrimination They are demanding an end to this practice, which they describe as "racist" and "discriminatory." For their part, both the city council and the organizing brotherhood maintain that they are working with the African community to advance this goal, although they have not yet achieved a 100% blackface appearance for the Black King's pages. This year, for the time being, there will be 33.