ALCOY: Anti-racism activists in Spain have called for a ban on the use of blackface seen in many of the country’s traditional Epiphany celebrations.

Rita Bosaho, the first Black woman in Spain’s parliament, said the practice — part of annual Jan 5 parades on the eve of Epiphany that depict the biblical Three Kings who brought gifts to Jesus — tarnish the memory of enslaved people and disempower Black children.

In the parades, actors portraying the kings, or Magi, ride past on floats and fling sweets, which are eagerly scooped up by children. Early Christian texts describe one of the kings, Balthazar, as African and Renaissance paintings often depict him as Black.

In the eastern town of Alcoy that has a long tradition of the parades, dozens of people acting the role of pages accompanied the kings in Friday’s event, their faces painted black and with exaggerated, red-painted lips. Some ran along the edge of the crowd high-fiving children.

Bosaho, who led the Equality Ministry’s racial diversity department from 2020 to 2023, said the use of blackface in the parades persisted because of a lack of debate on racism that she said permeated Spanish society. “It sends a message that racism, that our skin doesn’t matter,” Bosaho added.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2024