Aurora's Hispanic community shares in Three Kings Day celebration

For the past 14 years, the owner of La Quinta de los Reyes, a restaurant in Aurora, has brought the tradition of Día de los Reyes Magos (Three Kings Day) to the area's Hispanic community. The “Los Reyes Magos Aurora Celebration” takes place every year on Jan. 6 as it does in Mexico. This is an important piece of Mexican culture. As part of the celebration, three members of community dress as the Three Kings and pass out presents to children. A special sweet bread shaped like a wreath, called rosca, is prepared and enjoyed as well. These celebrations are times for family and friends to come together and be grateful for each other and all they have. The community and the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are delighted to continue celebrating this tradition in the United States.

“It's very important for us to continue our culture, make sure our kids know how we were raised and help them embrace our culture,” said Karina Y. Garcia, president & CEO of the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. “This is one of our biggest events and it's nice to let the kids know that this is something our culture celebrates.”

Typically, the restaurant opens its doors to patrons for a festive celebration every Jan. 6. Attendees have the opportunity to interact with one another and local business sponsors, take photos with the Three Kings, receive a present and enjoy the party afterward. COVID-19 obviously changed the format this year, but it didn't dim the community's spirit and excitement about celebrating the annual event.

This year, event organizers arranged for families to drive by the restaurant so that gifts from the Three Kings and the rosca could be loaded into each family's car. Despite the change in format, more families than ever showed up to celebrate Día de los Reyes Magos.

About 800 vehicles made their way through the restaurant's parking lot, with plenty of rosca from Cinco de Mayo Bakery, and toys for newborns to 17-year-olds, distributed by community members dressed as the Three Kings.

“We typically distribute about 1,000 toys, but this year we gave close to 2,000 gifts,” said Garcia. “We were able to purchase some really neat gifts this year, including headphones for the older kids.”

Thanks to generous sponsors including local businesses like Gerald Subaru of Naperville, Día de los Reyes Magos continues to grow in the Aurora area. This was Gerald's first time sponsoring gifts for the event, and they are eager to participate in this and other events in the future.

“We are proud to have been able to sponsor such an inspirational holiday celebration in our community. La Quinta de los Reyes and the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce did an amazing job making sure to create lasting memories for thousands of local children,” said Alec McKean of Gerald Auto Group.

In addition to helping make events like Día de los Reyes Magos possible, the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the only Hispanic Chamber in the suburbs, works tirelessly to help local businesses and nonprofits thrive. During the pandemic they remained open to educate the community about resources available and be a shoulder to lean on during stressful times, with almost all resources available in Spanish. The Chamber is also invested in helping startups and developing programs that assist the community's youth. Events like the one on Jan. 6 help the Chamber continue its mission of building businesses and helping the Hispanic community members embrace their histories.

“We are a bilingual Chamber, and we are open to everyone. As a regional Chamber, we also have great relationships with the surrounding community, not just Aurora. We welcome anyone who'd like to build their business in Aurora and the surrounding city,” said Garcia.

To learn more about the Aurora Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, visit www.ahcc-il.com.