Anti-racists slam blackface use in Spain’s Epiphany parades

ALCOY, Spain/BARCELONA/MADRID (Reuters) – Anti-racism activists in Spain have called for a ban on the use of blackface seen in many of the country’s traditional Epiphany celebrations. Rita Bosaho, the first Black woman in Spain’s parliament, said the practice – part of annual Jan. 5 parades on the eve of Epiphany that depict the biblical Three Kings who brought gifts to Jesus – tarnish the memory of enslaved people and disempower Black children. In the parades, actors portraying the kings, or Magi, ride past on floats and fling sweets, which are eagerly scooped up by children. Early Christian texts describe one of the kings, Balthazar, as African and Renaissance paintings often depict him as Black. In the eastern town of…