The holiday season often does not end on New Year’s Day for Spanish speakers around the world. Each year, on January 6, many observe El Día de los Reyes, or Three Kings Day, by exchanging gifts to commemorate the visit of the three wise men to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem.
In New York City, El Museo del Barrio celebrates the day with a festive parade through Spanish Harlem, featuring camels, music, dancers, giant puppets—and even live camels. More than 3,000 schoolchildren joined in this year’s procession to mark the museum’s 35th annual parade.
All photos courtesy of the author.
East Harlem residents watch a giant puppet of the king Melchor pass by. 
The parade makes its way down East 115th Street in Manhattan. 
Local schoolchildren make crowns and march in the procession. 
Students from East Harlem’s Bilingual Head Start program dress as kings and join in the march. 
Locals from El Barrio join in the parade. 
Miss Colombia, also known as “the Queen of Queens,” with pet poodle Cariño marched in the parade. 
Each year, camels bring up the rear of the Three Kings Parade. 
El Museo del Barrio’s float carries musicians and the Three Kings. 
Members of Yonkers 
Dancers performing in the procession. 
A king on stilts crosses the finish line at the parade’s end at Park Avenue and 115th Street.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carin Zissis
Reading Time: 3 minutesZissis is editor-in-chief of AS/COA Online. She is a 2024-2025 International Competition Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute.
