Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Today is not just the anniversary of the insurrection. In the Christian tradition. January 6th is part of the Christmas holiday season. The Epiphany when the three Magi or Wise Men brought gifts to baby Jesus. It has special significance in Spanish-speaking cultures, where Three Kings Day is celebrated with parades and gifts for children. Here in New York City, El Museo del Barrio has organized The Three Kings parade for 45 years. Today's celebration, however, is virtual, like last year's, but like we've done for other canceled in-person celebrations, let's celebrate with you right now on the air.

Listeners, if Three Kings Day is a part of your cultural tradition, we invite you now to a Three Kings Day parade of the air, 212-433 WNYC, 212-433- 9692. We're inviting you to call in and share what's special about Three Kings Day, how you're celebrating today, despite Omicron and despite the date being hijacked by an attack on democracy. Help us reclaim January 6th through a special day of celebration, 212-433 WNYC. Again, Three Kings Day is a holiday you celebrate, if it's part of your cultural tradition, we invite you now to a Three Kings Day parade of the air, 212-433 WNYC, 433-9692.

Call in and share one thing about Three Kings Day that makes it special for you or how you observe it, either in the past or today, despite the pandemic. 212-433 WNYC. Three Kings Day celebrants, 212-433-9692. For this, we're joined by two special guests from El Museo celebrations, New York State Poet Laureate, Willie Perdomo, whose collections include Smoking Lovely, The Remix and The Crazy Bunch, published in 2019 by Penguin. He's one of this year's honorary Kings in El Museo's Three Kings Day celebration, and Suni Reyes, actress and comedian who is hosting a virtual part of the festivities tonight at 6:00 PM. Welcome both of you to WNYC. Hi.

Willie Perdomo: Thank you, Brian.

Suni Reyes: Thank you for having us.

Brian Lehrer: Suni Reyes, with your last name, did you think Día de Reyes was just for you?

Suni Reyes: [laughs] It is actually a personal day and they took it away from me to celebrate the magicians that visited Jesus when he was born and I am happy to share the day with them.

Brian Lehrer: Can you give those of the listeners from other traditions a little primer-- some people say primer, but most of those people are painters-- in Three Kings Day, how it's typically observed in Puerto Rico, since I think that's your heritage and the roots of East Harlem community and El Museo as well.

Suni Reyes: Día de Reyes was like my absolute favorite because my parents did not believe in Santa. Sant did not bring present [laughs]. We watched all the kids on Christmas day play with their presents and, "Look at what Santa got us," and we would have to wait two more weeks, and then it was our turn, payback [laughs]. Everyone was tired of playing with their toys and we were just like, "Ha, ha. The Kings brought us gold." It was never gold, but they brought us really awesome present.

The families that celebrated both, they went all out for Santa but then for The Three Kings, it was like one or two things, but my parents it was like, "No, The Three Kings are going to bring us all of the riches. Even if we are going to be broke the rest of the year, this is the day." It was wonderful and we didn't start school until like the 10th or the 12th of January. We had some time to play, where here Christmas is the 25th and on the third kids are back in school. It's like, "Wait, what's going on?"

It was fun to have that long holiday break and the whole thing about putting the grass inside the shoebox, underneath the bed with a cup of water. It was always very exciting to believe in the magic of Three Kings with camels storming into our home, taking a box full of grass and water. Then, ta-da, here's a bike. It was truly wonderful and there are some other countries in Latin America that celebrate with a Rosca, which is like a sweet bread, and other people leave shoes in the hallway [chuckles] for The Three Kings to leave presents inside it. It is a wonderful celebration.

Brian Lehrer: That's so great. Willie Perdomo is someone who grew up in East Harlem where it was probably hard to imagine three actual camels storming into your apartment. Do you have memories of the day as a community celebration when you were a kid and not just within your family?

Willie Perdomo: More so as an adult. About 10 years ago, I was at [unintelligible 00:05:45] and I went with my son. My son is 19 now, and he was nine when we marched down Third Avenue and how much of a highlight that was for him in terms of celebrating culture, heritage, tradition, but to celebrate it in a neighborhood where I was born and raised. I think the only regret I have now of the pandemic, going online and going virtual is that I wasn't able to wear my crown and ride a camel through my own neighborhood [chuckles], basically.

I think there's this idea that when we preserve our culture, when we preserve our traditions, it's resistance against erasure. I would be remiss if I didn't shout out my other-- the cohort of the Kings, Domingo Morales and Elizabeth Yeampierre, who are really at the forefront of the struggle for climate justice, as you know. The theme is Somos el Cambio.

We're definitely looking at the role of sustainability in the environment as we struggle against food deserts and now urban deserts with climate change. I do remember it as almost a dream-like spectacle as a kid, and then it became something that was solid once I was involved in this. It's just an honor to be selected as one of the Kings this year.

Brian Lehrer: Let's get a few callers in here for a little Three Kings Day parade of the air. Carlos in the Bronx, you're on WNYC. Happy Three Kings Day.

Carlos: Happy Three Kings Day, Brian.

Brian Lehrer: Tell us a story.

Carlos: First-time caller, long-time listener.

Brian Lehrer: I'm so glad you're on. Thank you.

Carlos: For me, Three Kings is the true meaning of the Christmas season. It's the Epiphany, it's the arrival of The Three Kings of Orient after a long trek to give this baby child who could not even get a hotel room, this immigrant, the gifts of the Magi. For me, Three Kings is the Epiphany. It's all about the true generosity of Christmas, the true spirit of working, traveling, going through the trek to give your gifts. I have a lot of meanings for it.

As a kid, we used to do the manger and we used to put the three camels with the Kings, and each day we would move them closer and closer to the manger, until we got to the 12th day of Christmas, which is Epiphany. This is actually-- I wish that Americans, mainstream America would incorporate Three Kings Day more because it is the 12 day of Christmas.

Brian Lehrer: On 12th day of Christmas, Carlos in the Bronx made his first call to the Brian Lehrer show. Carlos, don't make it your last, thank you so much.

Carlos: All right. I appreciate it Brian, and Willie, [foreign language].

Brian Lehrer: A fan. Christine in South Orange, you're on WNYC. Hi, Christine.

Christine: Hi, Brian. Thank you for taking my call. Big fan. Growing up, we grew up religious and we celebrated the Christmas season right until Three Kings Day, we kept our tree up. As a child in the '80s, one year I was particularly naughty and received a letter in the mail from Santa saying that I was not going to get my stocking that year because of the choices I was making. On Christmas day, there was a piece of coal in my stocking and I tried to hide it from my family.

I was super ashamed and embarrassed, but that letter said that if I improved my attitude and made better choices, that [chuckles] I would receive my stocking on Three Kings Day when he made a loop around, back around the area, before heading back to the North Pole. I remember getting my stocking on Three Kings Day, and I will never forget that until the day I die and the lesson I learned from it.

[laughter]

Brian Lehrer: That is a great story. Thank you very, very much. Suni Reyes, this year's theme for the El Museo celebration, as Willie mentioned, is Somos el Cambio, Protecting the Environment for Future Generations. I see that environmental activists are included as honorary kings and queens. What is the role of the godparent for the celebration, what they call madrinas and padrinos?

Suni Reyes: Yes, the madrinas and padrinos are our connection to the community at the grassroot level, are the people that are in there helping the community stay together, empowering them. It's so fun because we have actual-- the honorary kings, which Willie is part of the honorary king honoree. Then, we have the madrinas and padrinos, which is, like, they're famous in the community and we're just giving them their kudos for the work they do all year around.

Brian Lehrer: Let's go to Maureen in West Orange, you're on WNYC. Hi, Maureen.

Maureen: Hi. Like you, I was trying to find a way to take back this day. I grew up knowing it as my grandmother's birthday, and she would have been 105 today, but also there's a tradition in Ireland called Nollaig na mBan or Women's Christmas, sometimes called Little Christmas, and that's for the Epiphany Day. It has to do with the idea that women work hard during the holidays and don't necessarily get to celebrate until there's a special day where it's all about women being able to enjoy the day and that's today.

Brian Lehrer: Huh, Women's Christmas. Suni, did you ever hear that one?

Suni Reyes: No, [laughs] wow. I did not know about this one. What country is that from?

Brian Lehrer: Ireland. She said Ireland, yes.

Suni Reyes: Ireland, wow that's amazing. No, wonderful.

Brian Lehrer: Worth incorporating. Willie, what's your role as an honorary king today, now that it's a virtual celebration?

Willie Perdomo: It was about spreading the message of sustainability, the resistance against erasure by preserving our traditions. The idea that a community is also celebrating its activists and the struggles against environmental justice, but also celebrating its artists and its poets. I'm coming in the tradition of poets and sonneteers like Jack Agüeros who founded The Three Kings Day parade and was a former director of El Museo del Barrio, who translated this beautiful poem by Julia de Burgos.

I'm coming in the tradition of activists and documentarians like Frank Stella who is responsible for a lot of the iconic images and photographs from parades past, especially the one of the [foreign language], the musicians walking through the Park Avenue tunnel in their sleep, but still celebrating and singing the music. Then, of course, our King Emeritus and one of the original founders of the Nuyorican school of poetry, Jesús-Papoleto Meléndez. My role as an artist in the community and be embraced by the community is proof positive that we don't create alone. That's part of how I see my role as this year's king.

Brian Lehrer: We're going to get another few Three Kings Day traditions added to the mix, I think from Anne in West Orange. Anne, we've just got 30 seconds for you, but go for it.

Anne: Yes. Hi, Brian. Three different traditions. One is a French tradition of the Epiphany cake, which has a trinket hidden in it. The youngest child goes under the table and calls out the name of the person who is to receive the slice, and the person who ends up with a trinket is crowned as king or queen for the day, and has to choose their own king or queen, and that tradition is much enjoyed by the children. I understand it's linked to the same similar Greek tradition of [foreign language] bread as well, and also it's Russian Christmas. On Russian Christmas Eve, women, like in Ireland, get together and engage in foretelling the future, which used to be--

Brian Lehrer: Anne, that's all great stuff. So glad you added all of those and I'm sorry to cut you off, but we're going to be out of time in the show in just seconds. Thank you, Anne, in West Orange. I want to thank our guests, New York State Poet Laureate, Willie Perdomo. Willie, we'll have to have you back for a proper set of readings or something one of these days, and actress and comedian, Suni Reyes. Maybe you know her from shows like Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and Billions. I don't know if you want to shout out any other upcoming appearances as we talk about The Three Kings Day festivities, which, listeners, you can participate in virtually for the events at elmuseo.org. Go to elmuseo.org for tonight 6:00 PM virtual festivities to register. Suni, you got 10 seconds to say whatever you want.

Suni Reyes: [laughs] Suni Reyes on all social media. Go to my YouTube channel, the El Museo's Facebook page. You can also see our event on the Facebook page, and we're happy to take our tradition back, taking it back from the insurrection. It's back.

Brian Lehrer: The real January 6th. Thanks, both of you for doing it here.

Suni Reyes: [foreign language].

Willie Perdomo: Thank you, Brian.

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