Every 6th of January the Spanish children get their presents from the 3 Wise Men (Los Reyes Magos). Every spanish town and city has a parade on the evening of the 5th where the 3, accompanied by their court. They carry the presents on their camels and all the small children are delighted trying to guess which one will be theirs. Afterwards the children go to sleep and the morning after, when they wake up, the presents have magically been delivered at home.

In Seña, a small rural town in Cantabria, they started 26 years ago doing a parade on the morning of the 6th. The town neighbours dress up, take out the animals and walk together with scouting the Wise Men.

Last year, on the 25th anniversary, it was raining cats and dogs but this year we had a nice and sunny day. I positioned myself where the “actors” would have the light from the side/back which would detach them from the back ground and bring out the textures of the costumes. This also has the advantage that they will not squint with the sun on their faces. At the same time I found a spot at the beginning of the parade where there were few spectators and I could avoid having people with modern clothes in the picture.

Here are the photos: