Logbook · 10 places

Play of the Kings of Cañada

Cañada, L'Alt Vinalopó, Alicante

1 Villages · 2 Monuments · 2 Nature · 2 Activities · 1 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones · 1 Food and drink

Spain › Valencian Community › Alicante › L'Alt Vinalopó › Cañada › Play of the Kings of Cañada

Play of the Kings of Cañada

Activity · Cañada, L'Alt Vinalopó, Alicante

Image of Cañada, not of the place itself.

The Auto sacramental de los Reyes Magos (Sacramental Play of the Three Kings) of Cañada is a theatrical performance, both itinerant through the streets and on fixed stages, of the Annunciation, the adoration of the Three Kings before the Christ Child and the massacre of the innocents ordered by Herod, in which more than two hundred residents of the village take part. It is held on 6 and 7 January, and there is evidence of performances as early as 1860-1870, making it the oldest Christmas event in the province of Alicante; it has been kept up without interruption for more than two hundred years, even during the Civil War. More than one hundred and twenty amateur actors re-enact the arrival of the Three Kings at five locations in the village, with colourful costumes and carefully crafted sound staging; the cast is renewed each year, although the script remains the same.

5-7 de enero

Photo: Enrique Íñiguez Rodríguez ( Qoan ) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What to see and do in Cañada