New London - The quaint, second-floor room at Centro de la Comunidad, which normally houses various events from dance classes to movie screenings, was transformed Sunday, as it normally is during this time, into the heart of the city's Three Kings Day celebration.

Once again, the nonprofit agency on Blinman Street hosted at least 100 Spanish-speaking residents to celebrate Three Kings Day, or Epiphany as it is often called. While the holiday officially falls on Jan. 6, the agency celebrates on the closest Sunday to the date.

The story of the Three Kings told simply by one of the youngest members in the audience, Yvanjalis Romero, 8, is "that the Three Kings would bring gifts, three gifts to Jesus."

Yvanjalis, who was born in New London, now lives in Metuchen, N.J.

"We came here to visit and celebrate," she said.

Her father, Ivan, who is originally from Ecuador, came for "the unity of the people."

"You see all kind of people come here to celebrate," he said.

The most commonly told version of the story of the Three Kings is that they traveled by camel, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh for baby Jesus on the night recognized as the 12th Day of Christmas.

"We like to keep the tradition going because we think it's important especially for the younger generations. Many of the older individuals, for them it brings back memories of how they were raised from their own countries," said Elizabeth Garcia Gonzalez, executive director of Centro.

Traditionally, on the night of Jan. 5, children venture out to collect grass, which represents hay for the camels, and place it in a box under the tree. Gonzales remembers one year, when she was younger, digging through the snow in order to find some grass to place into a shoebox. Parents leave food out for the Three Kings who in turn leave presents for the children under the tree.

"It's like Santa for us," said Yamaira Badillo, event coordinator at Centro. Badillo said the center is giving gifts to 206 children this year.

Badillo is from Ponce, Puerto Rico, and came to New London 20 years ago. Since then, she's seen the Hispanic community in the city grow.

"When I first got here twenty years ago there wasn't a lot of Spanish people here, but now with the years I see a lot more and more and more every year, from different countries," she said.

"Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, some from Mexico, some from Peru, Columbia, it's a mixed community here in New London," said Joan Donoghue, treasurer of Centro's board of directors.

This year's presenters included the band Sal Pa Fuera, the New London Mega Stars dance team, and members of a Groton church, which presented the play "Navidad en Mi Pueblo," or "Christmas in my Country." The celebration always ends with the re-enactment of the story of the Three Kings. Members of the re-enactment then present gifts to local children. This year's toys were donated by Electric Boat and Toys for Tots. Centro also received monetary donations from community members, Gonzalez said, which went toward buying "clothes toys, whatever was needed for the celebration."

"The only thing we don't have is the camels," joked Monaris Rivera, who played Mary.

The idea is to enjoy the moment, and to walk away with "the feeling of having this as a memory, as a good memory," Gonzalez said, adding that the agency takes pride in keeping the tradition going each year. Gonzalez hopes her children will also continue to the tradition.

Her son Jonathan, 20, played Joseph for the first time. Normally, he plays one of the kings.

"So this is a new opportunity for me. I was actually wondering is this a promotion or a demotion. He is Jesus' father but at the same time a king is a king," he joked.

Jonathan remembers trying to stay up as a young kid to witness the Three Kings he person. He never did make it.

"It has this nostalgic feeling," he said of the celebration, which he plans to pass on to his kids.

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: JuliaSBergman