Black-face Baltasar

I was pleasantly surprised that Barcelona seemed to have an actual real black person as Baltasar for the three wise men parade.

Black-face is a very touchy topic back in the US and it's a bit of a shock to see many parades (like in the town where we spent Christmas) where not only Baltasar has his face painted black, but also his whole entourage.

Racial attitudes can be somewhat archaic here...

Like when my Spanish grandma sees a cute little black baby. "Pobrecito!" she says and launches into an explanation on how sorry she feels for the baby for having black skin like all those poor people in Africa.