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By Joy E. Glenn
JANUARY, in Spain, is magical for kids.
Cabalgata is a very popular event. The Three Kings are expected to arrive in the city. Children’s faces will be lit up with excitement. Candy is flying through the streets.
It is a joy for my children, as it is for most kids. It’s a joy. Tradition is what it is. Childhood.
Yet, every year there is an uncomfortable moment we can’t ignore.
When we see the float of Baltazar approaching, with faces painted in black and brown and lips exaggerated and costumes that make blackness something for the afternoon to wear, our joy pauses.
My children notice. They ask me questions. I’m left to navigate a situation that shouldn’t be mine.
This article was not written in order to shame or attack anyone. This article was written to clarify because many Spanish people do not understand what is so painful.
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The lack of understanding that is rooted in hate does not always exist. It can also be rooted in ignorance. Knowledge is important.
In Spain, I believe that it is an honor to portray King Baltazar. Many people are proud to portray him. They feel they are not being mocked, but paying homage.
But intent does not erase impact. For black people, seeing non-black people paint their faces black, even ‘out of respect’, is painful because our skin is not a costume.
We don’t get to take off our skin at the end. We are constantly wearing this skin, both through admiration but also through judgment, discrimination and dehumanization.
What some wear to celebrate, others experience as reality.
In a school production, my son portrayed Zeus many years ago. He dressed as Zeus. He dressed as Zeus. He did not paint the face white, as it would have been inappropriate and unnecessary.
READ MORE: Blackface row in Spain: Outrage after white actor ‘paints himself black’ to portray Balthasar in a Three Kings video for children
Black people never had to paint their faces to portray characters of white race. We are aware that race is not something to be dressed up as.
If people are darkening their skin or exaggerating lips and performing blackness visually, then it is a question that must be asked: Is this the way you see us, too?
Especially when, paradoxically, black features are so often copied and commodified – fuller lips, curvier bodies, black music, black style – while black people themselves are still disrespected, excluded, or ignored.
Blackface is a deeply racist practice in the United States.
It was first used in minstrel plays, when white performers painted themselves black to dehumanise enslaved Africans, as well as their descendants.
These performances reinforced harmful stereotypes that justified violence and exclusion as well as systemic racism.
READ MORE: Malaga’s ‘DANA migrant hero’ will play Balthazar in the city’s Three Kings’ parade
History is important because symbols can carry memories even across borders.
Although Spain is a country with a very different history, this image still falls on black people because of the global history. Pain is not limited to national borders.
Spain is no longer the Spain it used to be. It is becoming more diverse. There are a lot of bi-racial and black children here. There are also children with two black parents, or one Spanish parent.
What do they feel when they see the colour of their skin painted on another person’s face as a form of entertainment?
Cabalgata is the favorite Cabalgata of my children. I do not wish to rob them of their joy. We experience this unspoken embarrassment every year when tradition clashes against dignity. Children are more observant than we realize.
Black people are very proud of being black. We love our skin. Our hair. Our hair. Our history. Our resilience. I would never trade my dark skin for anything, even if the world had slapped us with so much pain. Not for anything.
READ MORE: WATCH: Black TikTok creator says she is in ‘no hurry’ to return to Spain as it ‘still hasn’t learned from its terrible history with people of colour’
What we ask is not the erasure tradition, but an evolution of respect. We don’t want to be pitied. We want to be treated as humans.
There is an active petition, which calls for the ending of blackface in Spain. This is not a personal appeal; it’s part of a larger conversation that shows more and more people are ready for change.
Spain is able to continue with its traditions. It is your choice. Once the perspective has been shared, voices heard and black families have explained how they feel, ignorance will no longer be an excuse.
Spain is becoming increasingly diverse. This is not a danger. In fact, it is a beautiful truth. And reality invites us to reflect.
This article is a simple invitation to listen. Tradition is not destroyed by respect, it is strengthened.
Joy E. Glenn lives in Southern Spain. She is an American Air Force veteran, author, creative writer and screenwriter. She has three children. and author of the book, ‘Spain: Through the eyes of a Black American woman’.
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