NO THREE KINGS CAVALCADE: Where have all the floats and camels gone?

NO THREE KINGS CAVALCADE: Where have all the floats and camels gone?

by RYAN ASQUEZ
For decades, the Cavalcade has been a highlight of Gibraltar’s social and cultural calendar. It would have normally taken place yesterday, the eve of the Epiphany. But this year, it has unfortunately been postponed again due to the ongoing pandemic. It nonetheless remains a much-treasured event, and to learn more about it I spoke to Eric Abudarham, President of the Three Kings Cavalcade Committee. 


The Cavalcade’s origins can be traced back to 1956, when John Ochello dressed up as Father Christmas and walked the streets giving gifts to children in need. This idea was taken further by the Gibraltar United Social and Athletic Club, which organised the first Three Kings Cavalcade the following year. It was different to that with which we are now familiar. ‘They had the Three Kings on horseback, that was the original Cavalcade’, said Eric. The first Kings were John Garcia, James Ramirez and Joe Ochello.
WHAT HAPPENED
‘What happened was that they were three people connected with Gibraltar United and they actually went out giving toys to underprivileged children’. The Club’s players would wear Arab clothing and hand out gifts: ‘The actual Cavalcade as we know it now with floats came a few years later, and it continued uninterruptedly until the pandemic’.

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06-01-22 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR