Yucatán: the Three Kings of Tizimin

January 6th is celebrated throughout Mexico as El Día de Los Reyes, the festival of the Three Kings or Three Wise Men, which marks Epiphany and the traditional climax to the Christmas season 

Images of the Three Kings ­ Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar ­ are on display in churches throughout Mexico.
   Tizimín, in northern Yucatán, is especially famous for its festival of Los Santos Reyes, when the faithful form long lines to enter the vast church, to ritually brush the religious images with fresh green branches sold outside.

Almost lifesize images of the richly robed Three Kings are housed in an elegant neo-Gothic showcases inside the church.

  

Gaspar, Melchor & Baltazar.  (© Niccolo Brooker)

text © 2019 Richard D. Perry