The organizing committee of the centenary parade of kings of Igualada, fed up with criticism for blackface - an English term that refers to a racist practice that was born with the use of theatrical makeup used by whites to caricature black people -, attended the plenary session last night from his town hall in search of protection, and he received it. He presented a motion in which he requested an unequivocal show of support "from the city of Igualada, and in its name that of the plenary session, to the feast of kings of Igualada in its patrimonial and traditional form." Before, the proposal denounced the "attacks" received by "various personalities and groups" for the practice of the aforementioned blackface.
The organization of the centenary party denies that painting the pages black can be classified as "racism", attributing the attack, "equivocal and inopportune", to the "deep ignorance" of the event, which it defines as an "example of a solidarity party, inclusive and with the ability to adapt. “A cultural and patrimonial expression that is received as a collective heritage, of singular beauty and extraordinary emotion”, he adds.
As the motion states, the festival of Kings of Igualada, the oldest in Catalonia and the second in Spain after Alcoy, is Medal of the City of Igualada (1966), Popular Festival of Cultural Interest (2010), Cross of Sant Jordi of the Generalitat of Catalonia (2013) and candidate for Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
The text prospered almost unanimously with the favorable votes of the Junts government team and its opposition, made up of ERC, Igualada Som-hi (PSC and Comuns) and the mixed group, and with the sole abstention of Poble Actiu CUP. It was the mayor himself, Marc Castells, who read the motion and, after expressing his admiration for the party, encouraged the organization to persist, even taking the liberty of giving them some advice: "Don't let anyone ever put their claws in the feast of the kings of Igualada”.
The spokesmen for the other opposition groups expressed themselves in similar terms. Republican Eric Conill showed his "unconditional love" for a party in which his entire group, he acknowledged, "has participated" in one way or another. Even so, he offered to weave consensus so that the party continues to "evolve." One of the most forceful councilors in defense of the party was the socialist Jordi Cuadras who denied the biggest: "Blackface has nothing to do with the party of kings." He recalled that the characterization is the basis of the party and added that, if that is blackface, it would also be "blondeface and whiteface", since they also wear brown and white.
The unanimity was broken by the representative 'cupaire' Neus Carles who, despite acknowledging the values of the event, demanded, among other aspects, more equity in the party and an organization model, now it is private, more in line with the activity; she also demanded to open the participation to racialized people and a more open election of the most emblematic figures of the party, the three kings and the Faruks. She also recalled how in the very recent past women had to fight to be able to participate in the party.
As Carles recounts, the blackface is not the first revolt faced by the organization of the kings in Igualada, which until 2004 did not give up on the participation of women in the party. They gave in after years of complaints and after several women broke into the party in previous editions, disobeying the ban.
