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Pilar R. Quirós
Malaga
Friday, 29 December 2023, 10:44
The Three Kings parade in Malaga is facing controversy after local political coalition Con Málaga demanded nobody paint their faces black to represent Balthazar, one of the three wise men.
The Podemos and IU coalition demanded on Wednesday that the person chosen to represent King Balthazar should be a man with dark skin instead of a man who paints his face black, as has traditionally happened and would again, as it is the turn of city councillor Avelino Barrionuevo.
Con Málaga deputy spokesman Nicolás Sguiglia said: "a council that claims to be avant-garde and open should act to eradicate these aspects of our traditions that perpetuate racism and are highly offensive to the black and Afro-descendant community in our city".
Sguiglia sent a letter to the mayor's office asking Paco de la Torre, stating the following: "Malaga city council definitively eliminate the practice of representing the character of Balthazar and his pages in the Three Kings' parades in our city with white people painted black, and use for this purpose dark-skinned people settled in our city, thus recognising the ethnic-racial diversity of Malaga, and connecting with the many Spanish cities that have already renounced this racist practice of blackface."
Sguiglia said the practice of painting faces black comes from slave-owning countries that excluded the population they represented and that in the United States, the civil rights movement managed to prohibit this practice, considering it to be "racist".
Con Málaga pointed out this year's Three Kings parade in Malaga takes a step backwards with the selection of local councillor Avelino Barrionuevo as he will paint his face black to resemble King Balthazar. "It is given to understand that there are no black people in our city who can play this role, when this is not the case. Malaga is a city with a rich ethnic and racial diversity," Sguiglia added.
Councillor for festivities Teresa Porras said that, by tradition and for decades the city hall has appointed three kings: a journalist, who embodies Melchior; a brotherhood member, who plays the role of Gaspar; and a councillor, who is King Balthazar. Porras pointed out that, on other occasions, when Málaga Ahora (now Con Málaga) and Unidas Podemos chose a dark-skinned king, "that has been their choice and we have been very respectful. But this year, it is our turn, the Popular Party, and we have already chosen our representative".
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