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Three Kings Day Celebrated

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By JOHN CEBALLOS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 12, 2008

WIMAUMA - While many Christmas decorations went back into their boxes with the arrival of the new year, hundreds of people in Wimauma were not done celebrating the holidays.

On Jan. 6, they gathered at the Wimauma Civic Center, 5705 Hillsborough St., for the Three Kings Day Celebration. About 300 people attended the afternoon festival, which offered plenty of music and gift-giving.

In its seventh year, the Wimauma event was organized by the Florida Institute for Community Studies. The mission of the Tampa-based organization is to partner with communities in Florida to achieve their goals through service and research.

"We've been successful over the years because we work very closely with the community," said Alayne Unterberger, the agency's executive director. "We know what people in the community want, and they realize they have a voice.

Known in Spanish-speaking countries as El Día de los Reyes Magos, Three Kings Day is celebrated 12 days after Christmas and is considered the last day of the holiday season. The day is known as Epiphany in western Christian churches.

The day began with a brief history of the three kings - Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar - who presented baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Later, children from the Our Lady of Guadalupe church in Wimauma performed a holiday-themed play called "Los Regalos de Navidad" - "The Gifts of Christmas" - while a group of children from the Iglesia de Dios of Wimauma sang several Christmas songs in Spanish.

Near the end, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar - played by Santos Vela, Ysbrain Guzman and Juan Gomez - made an appearance before volunteers handing out presents.

"Three Kings is particularly important to the parents because it's a way of maintaining tradition," Unterberger said. Still, Unterberger credits the participation of five churches in the area - Iglesia de Dios, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Anne Catholic, Beth-el Mission and Good Samaritan Mission - with helping organize and execute this year's event.

Gifts were donated by Hillsborough County Children's Services, Family Resource Centers, Ronald McDonald House and Wal-Mart.

"All of these people come together and do great work throughout the year," said Gomez, who, in addition to playing one of the three kings is a pastor at Iglesia de Dios.

"I'd say today was a success and we're looking forward to keeping it going for years to come."

Reporter John Ceballos can be reached at (813) 865-1555 or jceballos@tampatrib.com.

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