El Caribe reports that the brotherhood Cofrad?a de los Congos de Villa Mella
celebrated the traditional Feast of Kings yesterday, at the Brotherhood?s Museum
in Villa Mella. As reported previously in DR1 News, the fraternal society dates
back almost 400 years and has been declared a United Nations cultural monument.
The government?s last-minute change to the date of the holiday?s commemoration,
from the traditional date of 6 January one day earlier, caused some confusion
among the children, but the party went off as planned. Neighbors cooked a
100-pound cornbread to symbolize a gift from the magi. Not even a torrential
downpour could dampen the spirits of the locals who celebrated Three King?s Day,
as they linked the celebration to an environmental teaching experience for the
children. The chairman of UNESCO will be visiting the brotherhood?s site in
March.