Malaga puts an end to 'blacking-up' for annual Three Kings parade

The city hall has chosen Mansour Konte, the hero who rescued a woman from the floods during the Dana in November, to be black king Balthazar on 5 January

Matías Stuber

Friday, 29 November 2024, 17:43 | Updated 19:42h.

Malaga city hall has announced that from 2025 the Three Kings parade will have black people playing the role of Balthazar. The new protocol, which establishes that this king will always be "a black person", puts an end to the use of make-up on the faces of white people who have performed the role until now.

For the 2025 parade, Mansour Konte, the young man who rescued a woman from the floods in the city's Calle Héroe de Sostoa during the Dana on 13 November, has been chosen by the mayor.

This change of protocol has been described as a success by the municipal group Con Málaga, which includes the left-wing parties Izquierda Unida and Podemos. Both groups have been calling for Balthazar be a black person for some time.

In addition to Mansour Konte, the cast for the 5 January 2025 parade will be the director of Cope Málaga, Justo Fuentes (Melchior), and the elder brother of the Descendimiento Holy Week brotherhood, Manuel Torres Téllez will be Gaspar.

In a press release, the city hall said, "King Balthazar will always be played by a black person proposed by the mayor on the basis of merit, professional career or outstanding actions."

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