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Conservative politicians in Madrid have condemned the decision to cast two women and a celebrated drag queen as an alternative "Three Wise Men" in a local Epiphany parade.The reader might notice that "diversity" never seems to include the right to keep traditions traditional, and that secularists and perverts can't invent their own rituals, but have to sabotage or counterfeit those from the traditions that they reject.
The trio will star on one of 16 floats at the event in the Puente de Vallecas district on 5 January.
Drag queen La Prohibida will be joined by cabaret dancer Roma Calderón and hip hop singer Dnoé Lamiss.
The three will be dressed as stuffed animals in pyjamas.
The annual Three Kings parades, held the night before Epiphany on 5 January, are a much-loved feature of Spanish Christmas celebrations, popular with children.
Traditionally, three local men dress up as the Magi from the Christmas story and process through their town or village, handing out sweets.
This year's alternative version was proposed by the Orgullo Vallekano association, a Gay Pride collective in Madrid's Vallecas neighbourhood.
"We planned to do a parallel parade but when we proposed it in the municipal council, they told us to join the main one," a representative told El Mundo (in Spanish).
"It's yet another example of the diversity of Madrid," said supporter Carla Antonelli, a gay rights activist and Socialist Party politician.
However, critics have argued that Madrid City Council should respect the parades' traditional form.
"We support Gay Pride and the rest of the celebrations, but we believe the Kings' Day should be respected as a religious holiday," said Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida, the Popular Party's spokesman for Madrid council.
"Sometimes, a Cavalcade of Kings must simply be what the children expect it to be - a Cavalcade of Kings," tweeted Begoña Villacís, a Madrid councillor for the centre-right Ciudadanos party.
Singer La Prohibida - also known as Amapola López - says that is not a problem, and that she hopes to enrich the traditional festivities.
"The parade is for children and it will be a party for the children. There will be no glitter, no crowns, no different dresses... It is a festive thing, but it is neither the Carnival of the Canary Islands nor Gay Pride," the drag queen told El Mundo.
In her view, all traditions evolve - and it is the ones that adapt for modern times that endure.
People could equally ask why "SpongeBob Squarepants or the Star Wars characters" take part in a religious parade, she noted.
Quoted in Spanish paper El Pais, hip hop singer Dnoé Lamiss said it was odd to object to female kings, when even very recently councillors had "blacked up" to play Balthazar (by tradition the name of one of the Magi).
"Why can a white man paint himself black to play Balthazar, while I who am black cannot make Balthazar a magical queen or a page?" she asked.
The "Three Queens" float will carry the gay pride flag, and a flag aimed at children with the words, "Participate, dream and imagine."
"It will be a giant chariot with mothers, fathers, children - and super diverse," Lamiss said.
It is not the first time the Vallecas district has tried something a little different for Twelfth Night.
Two years ago, it chose a woman to represent one of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar as a gesture of equality.
Madrid's City Council didn't show any respect for diversity of opinion last year when it came to transgenderism, as reported by BBC News, March 1, 2017 (link in original):
A bright orange bus emblazoned with an anti-transgender message has been forced off the roads in Spain, after activists, trade unions, and Madrid City Council united against it.It's indicative of the times that stating a simple biological fact is now regarded as promoting hatred. It's useful to keep in mind Vox Day's three laws of Social Justice Warriors (SJWs): 1/ They always lie. 2/ They always double down. 3/They always project.
The slogan on the bus read: "Boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Do not be fooled."
A Catholic group, Hazte Oir, had planned to take it on a nationwide tour of Spanish cities.
The group said the ban was illegal and that it planned to acquire a new bus.
One message on the side of the banned bus states: "If you are born a man, you are a man. If you are a woman, you will continue to be one."
It is believed to be a response to posters put up in northern Spain by a transgender rights group, which read: "There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas. It's as simple as that."
An outcry arose in various quarters when the bus was spotted in Madrid on Monday.
The Equality spokeswoman for the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, Angeles Alvarez, branded the bus tour "a hate campaign based on intolerance", according to Spain's El Pais newspaper.
A spokeswoman for socialists on Madrid City Council, Purificacion Causapie, called it "contrary to the dignity and rights of transsexual children".
She urged the mayor's office to ensure Madrid remains "a city free of discrimination, violence and attacks on minors". Madrid City Council said the vehicle could incite hatred.
Though the outrage centres on its message, the bus has technically been ordered off the roads for breaching municipal rules on outdoor advertising.
Madrid Mayor Manuela Carmena said the City Council wants the vehicle out of the city "as soon as possible".
The Councilman for Security, Javier Barbero, said on Tuesday that police had contained "the bus of shame".
The president of Hazte Oir, which translates as "Make yourself heard" has argued that the group has a right to protest against "laws of sexual indoctrination" and the right to freedom of speech.
Ignacio Arsuaga claimed the slogan on the bus states only "a fact of biology that is studied in schools".
The group told the BBC it was not expecting to meet so much opposition.
"The Madrid City Council kidnapped the bus this morning, with no legal order from any court. This is illegal, and our lawyers are preparing a complaint so that our right to freedom of expression is restored," Mr Arsuaga said.
"We are going to appeal this unjust decision and file a criminal case against the extreme-left Madrid mayor."
Hazte Oir intends to visit nine Spanish cities over two or three weeks, and is looking at getting a second bus.
The Mayor of Barcelona made clear the controversial coach would not be welcome there, writing on Twitter: "In Barcelona there is no place for LGBT-phobic buses. We want our children to grow in freedom and without hatred."
Barcelona's City Council has warned the group it could face a fine of up to €3,000 (£2,560; $3,160) for breaching advertising laws if the bus takes to the streets.
HT: Dracul Van Helsing
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