Event: 3 Kings Day Celebrations, January 6th

For Immediate Release
Contact: Juliet Lozano @ 541-4010

Three Kings Day Celebration – A Day in Puerto Rico

Sample Puerto Rican Cuisine, Music, Dance and Art on January 6th and 8th at the El Paso Public Library

The El Paso Public Library in cooperation with Architectural Solutions, Tommy Santos, Luna’s and Sons Grocery, Organización Cívico-Cultural de Puertorriqueños en El Paso, Puerto Rican Medical Society at El Paso, and others is hosting a Puerto Rican themed 3 Kings Day Celebration featuring the food, music, dance and art of Puerto Rico. The celebration will take place on January 6 and 8 with events scheduled throughout both days. The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit www.elpasolibrary.org or call 543-5433.

Three Kings Day, also known as The Epiphany or El Día de los Reyes Magos in Spanish, is celebrated on January 6th and is a Christian holiday believed to be the day that Jesus Christ is revealed to be the son of God in man. The biblical story says that after Jesus was born, it took the Three Kings, Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar 12 days to travel to Bethlehem, the place of his birth. There, the Kings gave Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

In Puerto Rico, Three Kings Day is one of the most important holidays of the year and is marked by celebrations featuring traditions such as parrandas which are groups of singers that make the rounds surprising friends with a serenade of aguinaldos or songs. On the eve of January 6, children that have been good are traditionally given gifts said to be from the Three Kings, reminiscent of the biblical story. Children are taught to gather hay, straw or grass and place it underneath their beds for the Three King’s horses as they journey from town to town. The holiday also boasts its own traditional fare some of which will be available to sample during the celebration to be held at the Library.

Schedule of Events:

JANUARY 6th, 2011

9:30 AM - 8 PM Art Exhibition

9:30 AM - 8 PM Points of Interest Video

& Famous Puerto Rican Painters

10 AM - 10:40 AM Mimi’s Parranda by Lydia M. Gil

10:45 AM - 11:15 AM Adventures of the Caribbean

11:20 AM - 1:30 PM 3 Wise Kings “Gifts to Students”



JANUARY 8TH

9:30 AM - 6 PM Famous Puerto Rican Painter’s

Video and Art Exhibition

9:30 AM - 3 PM Raices Bomba and Plena Video

9:30 AM - 6 PM Points of Interest Video

11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Antojitos Borinqueños

(Complimentary)

12:45 PM - 1:20 PM “The Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico” by Sarah McCoy

1:25 PM - 2:00 PM Poetry and Music by Jorge Guzman

2:05 PM - 4:40 PM Puerto Rico Transition XIX – XX

by Dr. Wilfredo Santiago-Valiente

2:45 PM - 3:30 PM Folkloric Dancers Bomba & Plena

3:45 PM - 5:30 PM “Lo Que le Paso a Santiago”

Classic Puerto Rican Movie,

courtesy Pedro Maldonado

SPONSORS

EL PASO PUBLIC LIBRARY * WALMART * ARCHITECTURAL SOLUTIONS * ANTOJITOS BORINQUEÑOS * ARTE PÚBLICO PRESS * COMPAÑÍA DE TURISMO DE PUERTO RICO * INSTITUTO DE CULTURA DE PUERTO RICO * LUNA’S AND SONS GROCERY * ORGANIZACIÓN CÍVICO-CULTURAL DE PUERTORRIQUEÑOS EN EL PASO *

PEDRO MALDONADO-ATLANTA, GA. *

PUERTO RICAN MEDICAL SOCIETY AT EL PASO