Centro’s beloved Tres Reyes celebration is a cherished holiday tradition that brings families together from throughout the area to celebrate the magic of the Tres Reyes (Three Kings). On Jan. 17 at Centro’s headquarters on Madison’s South Side, it was a day of much-needed joy and celebration for an immigrant community that has been under siege as Latinx communities throughout Wisconsin and around the United States are currently facing an increased presence of immigration enforcement and threat of deportation due to recent surges in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The celebration was hosted at the new 25,000-square-foot Centro Hispano building, called Calli, on the corner of Cypress Way and Hughes Place. Centro’s new home officially opened its doors in April 2024 and has helped to expand Centro’s programs and reach as the non-profit organization attempts to keep up with the needs of Dane County’s fast-growing Latinx community.
“This is our second year at the new building. It’s fun to try different things. The flow was a little different and we tweaked some things from the previous year, which was our first time for Tres Reyes at the new building,” Dr. Karen Menéndez Coller, executive director of Centro Hispano of Dane County, tells Madison365. “We’re trying different things slowly but surely. But, yeah, this event was just so needed right now.”
Centro Hispano was founded in 1983 to meet the needs of the Latinx community in Dane County and has grown tremendously over the years as the Latinx population has grown in Dane County. This year’s Tres Reyes celebration was held with the backdrop of massive ICE raids on immigrant communities in neighboring Minnesota and in many places throughout America, which has shaken up both immigrant and non-immigrant communities everywhere.
For Centro and its staff and volunteers and the children and families at the event, it was impossible to ignore that elephant in the room.
“It’s just constantly hard. I try to not go on social media too much. And actually, I’d encourage everybody to stay off the socials, because there are a lot of ugly things being said,” Menéndez Coller says. Over the last month, there has been unsubstantiated claims of ICE being in Madison and various cities in Wisconsin. “There are a lot of rumors that are being spread. I encourage everybody to follow Centro’s Facebook feed and Voces de la Frontera for any verified reports. But we’ve been on it for a while now, and I think my entire time at Centro has been a time of reacting to these kinds of things. But of course, right now, it’s even more oppressive than ever.
“My heart breaks for everybody that has been affected by what’s happening in Minnesota and many other places, and for all the lives that have been affected and the kids who have been separated from their parents,” she adds. “It’s just terrible.”
Still, this year’s Tres Reyes Celebration was as festive as ever. Each youngster was presented with a present before getting the opportunity to have a picture with the Three Kings and enjoy fun activities like face painting done by members of Centro’s team. Attendees enjoyed Rosca de Reyes, a traditional holiday pastry, and a warm cup of chocolate caliente (hot cocoa).
“I think we gave out close to 2,000 toys, so there were definitely a lot of people at the event if you include all of the families, too. We had a really nice crowd,” Menéndez Coller said. “We did a raffle, too, which was the first time we did that and we awarded great prizes towards the end of the event. It was cute to see who won those raffles. Our staff really has grown quite a bit. We’re close to 50 people now, and so they really owned the event. And that felt really good, too.
“I feed off of the positive energy of the Three Kings [celebration] because it feels like we’re so powerful and nothing will ever touch us,” Menéndez Coller adds. “I need that, and I think we all do. Part of the reason this celebration feels so good this year is because it has been so hard otherwise. And I think the harder it gets, the more you need a space like Centro. I think we just all really need that kind of love. That’s what I’m trying to focus on — loving each other and being together. It’s important that the kids feel that way, too.”
(Photo by Hedi LaMarr Photography)
“We have a lot of younger staff here at Centro, and they really took ownership of the event,” says Menéndez Coller. “So for them to connect the dots with our history, and understand why this event is important. It’s nice for all of us to do it together so we get as much as we can.”
In many ways, it was a fulfilling day for the men dressed up as the Tres Reyes who got to hang out with kids during the day.
“One of the kings actually commented to me that he liked seeing how the kids are growing up,” Menéndez Coller says. “He’s been a king for many years now and has seen kids come in as a baby and will recognize them many years later when they are older … so that’s pretty cool.
“We had fun. I think everybody just wants us to be in crisis response mode, and I think we just needed an event where we all can be happy and that helps just as much,” she adds. “So it was really nice. I love seeing all the kids and their reaction to getting presents, and how grateful they were. I love seeing their joy.”
