Three Kings Day is celebrated in many parts of the world as the official end of the Christmas season, but in Humboldt Park, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) takes it one step further by bringing the Three Kings to the ‘hood.
In years past, families would bring their young children to the Humboldt Park Fieldhouse at 1440 N. Humboldt Blvd after the Three Kings Day parade would end, and the gift-giving would begin. Thousands of kids have received gifts over the last 26 years since the tradition began.
Due to COVID, this year PRCC worked hard to make sure that families were practicing social distancing and wearing masks before they approached the toy drive. Executive director José López was there ushering in children aged 0-12 and their families.
In the late 70s, the Latin American Motorcycle Association (LAMA) began doing “toy rides” to collect items to distribute to families on Three Kings Day.
Xiomara Rodríguez, who manages social media for the PRCC, said that the organization has continued the tradition under its name alongside each of their partners. She remembers coming to the toy drives as a child.
“I feel like it’s paying it forward and that makes me really happy, especially with the pandemic. I think it’s just so important for us to be together and find ways for us to be together and still celebrate our traditions in a safe way,” said Rodríguez.
Vanessa Martínez said that she brought her five-year-old grandson Kayden Torres to the event simply because “we are Puerto Rican. Our tradition is [to celebrate] the Three Kings.”