BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Three Kings Day, which celebrates the Biblical visitors who followed the star of Bethlehem to take gifts to the Christ child, will return to SteelStacks, ArtsQuest has announced.
And as a lead-up to that event, ArtsQuest has invited the community to Silent Night on the Latin Side, a special free concert that blends holiday classics with Latin jazz influences.
The concert by the Clave Legacy Quintet will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, in Palette & Pour inside ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.
ArtsQuest
The concert by the Clave Legacy Quintet will be at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20, in Palette & Pour inside ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks.
“The interpretation of seasonal melodies in Latin rhythms has always captured my attention,” ArtsQuest Performing Arts Board member Miguel Perez-Soto, a member of Clave Legacy, said.
“This spicy blend of holiday classics in Latin jazz style will surely warm your holidays.”
Perez-Soto said the show will take the audience “through a journey of pure holiday nostalgia with the incomparable sound of congas, timbales and aggressive piano “montunos.”
Three Kings Day celebration
ArtsQuest’s 14th Three Kings Celebration, a free, all-ages event with activities and live music, will start at 2 p.m. Jan. 4.
Also known as El Dia de los Reyes, the days is a religious and cultural tradition of many Latin American countries.
During the Three Kings Celebration, children are encouraged to come to hear a reading of the Story of the Three Kings, followed by gift-giving.
Kids also can take part in arts and crafts, and a visit with Einstein the Snow Camel.
“There’s nothing more intimate to our culture than the celebration of the Three Kings Day. Scripturally and culturally, this traditional festivity is a reminder of the richness of Latin American folklore,”
ArtsQuest Performing Arts Board member Miguel Perez-Soto
Food will be available from Holy Infancy Church.
“One of the best ways to end the holiday season is to join us at the Three Kings festivities at ArtsQuest,” said Myrna Rivera, chairwoman of ArtsQuest’s Latin Programming Committee.
“For me, this celebration always brings back amazing memories of holiday family gatherings in our homes.”
Perez-Soto said, “There’s nothing more intimate to our culture than the celebration of the Three Kings Day.”
“Scripturally and culturally, this traditional festivity is a reminder of the richness of Latin American folklore,” he said.
“Preserving this day brings me back to my days growing up in Puerto Rico and the experience of knowing that under my bed the Magi’s and their ‘co-conspirators’ (the Camels) left a special present that will enlighten my holidays.
“It is also a time when you can capture the pulse of childhood innocence through the belief in this significant historical and cultural event.”