January 6: A Celebration - A Bodega Princess Remembers Tradition, Not Insurrection

In the basement cafeteria of St. Nicholas School in Egg Harbor City, NJ, the Latiné community held a huge celebration every January 6th to celebrate the Feast of Los Reyes Magos. In the moments before the fiesta in 1998, eight-year-old Iraisa Ann Reilly prepares for her first ever solo. Granddaughter of the neighborhood-famous Pepe, a cultural and social cornerstone of the community, Reilly leads us through years of Reyes Magos celebrations, sharing her family and her hometown where she grew up divided between language and culture.  Will her performance that night change the course of her life forever?

Written and Performed by:

Iraisa Ann Reilly