Sus Majestades Los Reyes Magos in parades throughout Tenerife for Kings’ Eve 5 January

Update 4 January 2012: As every year, the Kings will be arriving in various towns throughout Tenerife tomorrow 5 January to deliver their presents to all good children. There will be the usual arrival by ferry in Los Cristianos around 7pm, but many towns will see such parades.

Another main one in the south is Adeje, where Los Reyes will arrive by helicopter at 5pm in the football ground (entrance ticket €1) and will then parade at 7.30 through the town’s main street, Calle Grande.

Another huge parade is, of course, in Santa Cruz, where despite fears of a cancellation because of the economic crisis, the kings will after all arrive at 5pm at the main CD Tenerife football ground, the Heliodoro, before parading from 7pm through the city, starting at Plaza República Dominicana, and proceeding through Avenida de las Asuncionistas, Ramón y Cajal, Galcerán, Plaza de Weyler, Méndez Núñez, Pilar, Villalba Hervás, La Marina and ending at the Plaza de La Candelaria.

The video below shows the main Santa Cruz Reyes cabalgata in 2010.

Do bear in mind that to get a good vantage point for any of these parades, it’s essential to be there a couple of hours or so in advance. Wherever you see the Kings, enjoy the atmosphere, and the little gifts and confectionary they throw to the crowd as they pass. Kings Day itself, 6 January, will be a public holiday, as always.

Original post 5 January 2010: In Spain, it is not Father Christmas who delivers presents to all good Spanish girls and boys, it is Sus Majestades Los Reyes Magos, their Majesties the three Wise Kings of the traditional and familiar Nativity story. In recent years, Father Christmas has become increasingly popular, with many Spanish children now asking for, and expecting, presents from both sources, but the arrival of Los Reyes is still the most special of occasions.

“Kings’ Day”, Epiphany, or our Twelfth Night, is on January 6th, so everything apart from the most touristic of businesses will be closed, and as with Father Christmas, presents are delivered on the Eve, rather than the Day itself. Throughout Tenerife, therefore, there will be parades of Sus Majestades this evening, the 5th.

One of the most popular of these cabalgatas in the south is in Los Cristianos, where the Kings will arrive at the harbour by ferry. Their procession starts around 5pm and follows the road up Avenida Suecia to Church Square and then on to the Cultural Centre. In Adeje, the Kings will arrive by helicopter at the El Galeón football ground around 6pm, and then proceed along the town’s main Calle Grande. In Guía de Isora, the procession through the centre of the town will start around 7pm.

There are many parades in the north too, with the grandest arrival set to be a magical spectacular in the Heliodoro Rodríguez López in Santa Cruz from around 5pm. Tickets have been sold out for days for this specific event, but anyone can follow their procession through the streets in Santa Cruz from around 7pm.