22 Jan Fiesta del Día de Los Reyes Magos 2026: A Three Kings Day Flamenco Celebration
Fiesta del Día de Los Reyes Magos, or Three Kings Day, is celebrated throughout the world to mark the culmination of the twelve days of Christmas. On January 3rd, a sold-out live Spanish dance and music performance was performed by adult dancers in our Flamenco program, led by Lisa Botalico. The afternoon featured multiple dance numbers as guests learned about this cultural holiday and ended the holiday season in celebration.
What is Three Kings Day?
Three Kings Day is a Christian tradition celebrated on January 6th. According to the Bible, the three wise men followed the star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to the son of God. Their journey is represented with the Twelve Days of Christmas. Three Kings Day represents the end of the wise men’s journey and arrival to baby Jesus. It‘s celebrated all over the world but is an especially significant holiday in the Hispanic and Latino communities. The holiday is viewed as a “second Christmas” with gift-giving and family feasts.
Lisa Botalico, ACP’s Flamenco program founder, director, and teacher of over 26 years, choreographed and taught a celebratory Three Kings Day dance to her adult Flamenco students. These students rehearse for weeks leading up to this event, taking time outside of class to rehearse and get every move as perfect as possible. The performance tickets sold out fast, and the audience had such a demand to see the show; ACP opened a second showtime. Throughout the afternoon, audience members learned all about Three Kings Day through multiple dance numbers, celebrating the conclusion of the Twelve Days of Christmas.
This is what Lisa Botalico had to say about this event:
For the past 10 years, everyone at the Arts Council has looked forward to our annual Three Kings Day celebration. There is no better way to end the holiday season and to welcome in the New Year than to come together to share our passion for Spanish dance and music with friends, family and the general public. We were so excited this year to have two sold out performances!
Culminating with the arrival of the Three King’s wearing the fabulous masks made by Arts Council’s Art Instructor, Libby Ramage, the event also features regional and classical Spanish dance, Flamenco and this year, a special dance from Peru performed by Yllari Briceño. I was especially proud of my two new contemporary works: A Flamenco Jazz version of Boccherini’s Fandangos and a Flamenco Piano version of a Bach Fugue.
But for us, it wouldn’t be Three Kings Day without giving a nod to Shakespeare with the beautiful song sung by Debbie Lingel accompanied by violist, Joel Rudin: With a Heigh-Ho How the Wind Blows from Twelfth Night which is set on Three Kings Day Eve. The audience was also delighted by the famous Villancico (Spanish Christmas song), Carita Divina sung by opera singer, Kyoko Saito also with viola accompaniment by Joel Rudin.
As Three Kings Day is about gift giving, I am always so grateful and fortunate to be regaled every year by the most wonderful gifts of all – seeing my choreography come to life and seeing all the passion and dedication of the dancers (35 this year!) delighting the audience with their wonderful performances.
One of my favorite past memories of Three Kings Day is of our virtual performance during the pandemic. It was such a magical and emotional experience to be able to reach so many people who were not able to see us in person and to hear from them how much it meant seeing us dancing together. Check it out on the Arts Council’s YouTube Channel.
Many thanks to Melissa Kuscin, Arts Council’s Director of Programming and events for her support!
As our Three Kings Celebration has become so popular, maybe next year we will add a third performance…stay tuned for announcements and buy your tickets early!
