The Neighborhood Museum of New York is ready to celebrate its traditional and long-awaited parade of Day of the Kings on January 6, she focused on the importance of mental health and well-being this year, in light of the political and health events of recent years in the United States.
The art institution of “The neighborhood”, the neighborhood Harlem Latino, created by the Puerto Rican community in the 1960sindicated in a statement that it is an event that celebrates life and culture, and that it will travel its main streets with camels, colorful puppets, parties and music.
Poet, author and activist Jesus “Papoleto” Melendezwho is the emeritus king of the show, will be the protagonist of this 46th edition, which pays tribute to its diverse community with three women who play the role of three wise men.
They will be Paloma Izquierdo Hernández, president of the Urban Health Plan (UHP), a system of health centers serving a low-income population in three city neighborhoods; hip hop and R&B singer, songwriter and actress Princess Nokia and award-winning mental health activist and author Dior Vargas.
Among the godmothers and godfathers is Djali Brown Cepedafounder of Nuevayorkinos, a digital archival project documenting the city’s Latino and Caribbean culture and history through photographs and family histories, and Richard “Crazy Legs” Colón, a dancer described as the most iconic Latino figure in the history of hip hop and one of the pioneers of the genre, originally from the Bronx.
Among the godparents, the activist of the LGBTQ community also stands out Charles Rice González, co-founder of BAAD!, lThe Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance and educator.
This year’s commemorative poster is the work of artist Tanya Torres. “This year, illustrating the Three Kings in a playful and colorful way.”
The parade will pay tribute to the figures of the art world who died this year: plastic artists Domingo García, Freddy Rodríguez and Carmen Herrera; the singer and dancer Irene Cara; rapper Gloria “Huracán G” Rodríguez; photographer Hiram Maristany, former director of the Museo del Barrio and who has documented Harlem’s Latin Quarter and its cultural legacy for nearly six decades; musicologist Roberta Singer and percussionist and cultural manager dedicated to promoting traditional Puerto Rican rhythms of bomba and plena Tito Matos.
This year’s commemorative poster is the work of artist Tanya Torres. “This year, by illustrating the Three Kings in a playful and colorful way, I offer this gift to all the children of this harsh and beloved city,” the artist said in the release.
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“This is my home, my street, some moments in my life where the Magi have been present in my heart and in the hearts of the people I met in the same place where the Magi remembered me, where they left me their gifts which I now share in this image”, Torres also indicated.
