🏺The Tapa Weekend: April 5
An antiques fair, EDM, archaeology and a manga exhibit.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | April 5, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #48
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
Happy Friday, everyone!
We know. You’re still recovering from all those chocolate eggs, torrijas and licores de hierbas that you tried this weekend (all in the spirit of celebrating the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, of course). Now that he’s ascended to the heavens (we think), it’s time to go back to our usual, proletariat-style two-day weekend.
And it looks like we’re having some great weather these days (27ºC on Saturday!) as opposed to last week when rather than Semana Santa it felt more like the Noachian deluge (you just learned a new term, you’re welcome).
So here are some fun things to do for those of you lucky to be in Madrid this weekend.
Enjoy.
1. Festival Relevo at Conde Duque
Hooray! You know that the warm weather has arrived when the outdoor concerts and festivals begin. And starting this Saturday, the Conde Duque Cultural Center has a lot of new talent to offer with the beginning of the Relevo Festival.
This super music fest aims to be a platform for up and coming bands from around the country. Eight artists/bands will be performing in the afternoon and evening at the cultural center’s central courtyard on Saturday.
Featured artists include Corte, a post-punk band from Madrid; Gus, a Venezuelan artist based in Spain known for his urban pop style and other names such as Vicente Calderón; Ashleys; Lusillón; and Nico B.
On top of that, there will be morning workshops, conferences and even a Feestichachi vinyl fair. And of course, you can have a drink and chill out with friends during what seems to be the first really hot day of the year.
Festival Relevo. Centro Cultural Conde Duque. Calle del Conde Duque, 11, Madrid. April 6. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Free admission.
2. ANTIK Almoneda 2024: Antiques and Art Galleries Fair
If you’ve always dreamed of being Indiana Jones but couldn’t afford traveling to exotic locales, here’s an interesting (although admittedly less exciting) option for finding treasure: the antiques, art galleries and collectibles fair known as ANTIK Almoneda Spring Edition, which opens tomorrow at the IFEMA and showcases all sorts of trinkets and vintage objects from a bygone era.
There’s also clothing, jewelry and costume jewelry, because who doesn’t want to dress like the dowager countess from Downton Abbey?
The objects on display have “a minimum of 50 years” of antiquity so we don’t really get why in the video above there’s a booth that’s called “Rewind to the 90s” but to be honest we also saw there’s a DJ and a bar so we don’t really care if the math doesn’t add up. Everything before 2004 is ancient anyway, at least according to Gen Z.
This is the first major event of the year in terms of art and antiques as it brings thousands of objects presented by over 100 antique dealers, pawnbrokers, and galleries. Better not miss it!
Oh, and someone please explain to Gen Zers what “rewinding” means.
ANTIK Almoneda 2024. IFEMA, Avenida del Partenon 5, Madrid. April 6 to 14. Check website for opening hours. Tickets: €13.
3. Madrid’s Museo Arqueológico Nacional is Free (for a limited time)!
Speaking of Indiana Jones and non-magical artifacts, if the objects displayed at the ANTIK fair are too modern for you, we are ready to offer you the perfect alternative: Madrid’s National Archaeological Museum (aka the MAN)!
For this week only, the MAN is celebrating the 10th anniversary since its grand reopening, with free admission. You get to see some of its most popular sculptures, such as the bicha de bazalote, which sounds like a reggaeton artist but it's not, or the Lady of Elche, who totally looks like Princess Leia. There’s even a replica of the Cave of Altamira!
Also, there is a temporary exhibit by photographer José Manuel Ballester titled "10 years, 10 images” that will blow your mind.
The museum’s permanent collection spans from Prehistory to the Modern Age and includes cultures such as Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and others from the Iberian Peninsula. Trust us, it’s pretty cool.
Oh, and if you’re more into art, remember that the Prado Museum is opening its doors this Saturday night for free (as it does the first Saturday of every month). You’re welcome.
Museo Arqueológico Nacional. Calle de Serrano 13, Madrid. Check website for opening hours. Free admission until April 7.
4. Claptone The Masquerade Madrid
Claptone The Masquerade Madrid is back again for another edition to offer one of the best EDM parties out there.
Imagine a crossover between Berlin and Venice and this is what you get. Producer duo Claptone (the ones with the plague masks!) are bringing their Ibiza house/tech house event to Madrid with a masquerade ball at Fabrik, a nightclub that is soooooo far away from downtown Madrid (but is totally worth the visit). And hey, this is the first time in five years they perform there, so if you’re into this kind of thing you can’t miss it.
On top of that, this year Claptone is joined by American DJ Diplo, who will be the guest of honor. Alongside them, Hannah Wants and Felix Da Housecat will also perform.
If you don’t want to spend €50 on an Uber ride, there’s a bus service from Madrid and Fuenlabrada every 30 minutes uninterrupted during the event.
The Masquerade. Fabrik. Av. de la Industria, 82, Humanes de Madrid. April 6, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Tickets: €25.
5. The Art of Manga Madrid
Calling all manga nerds! This is a big one.
The Art of Manga is an exhibit that “traces the history of manga from its origins to the present day, revealing the close relationship between modern manga and traditional Japanese art, and highlighting the enormous artistic impact of manga worldwide”.
Now, we’ll be honest with you. We’ve only seen Robotech and maybe a few episodes of Dragon Ball Z so our understanding of manga is close to null. But some friends who are experts on what an Akira is have insisted that we include this as a must-do this weekend. If it sucks, you can take it up with them.
This exhibit presents 10 different thematic areas with a collection of more than 200 objects and works of art. It also includes “unique objects from private collections in Japan, China and Europe, such as illustrated books and Japanese woodcuts from the 18th and 19th centuries, illustrated scrolls, original paintings, manga manuscripts from the 1960s, 1970s and later” etc. etc.
Phew. That’s like, a lot. But definitely worth visiting.
The Art of Manga. COAM, Hortaleza 63, Madrid. Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets: €14,90.
👨🏻💻 Viral Stories of the Week
👨🏻🦲 That moment when you wish you’d grown your hair out
Say you’re a bald guy who looks like former RFEF boss (and non-consensual Jenny Hermoso kisser) Luis Rubiales. Then imagine that you arrive at Madrid’s Barajas airport just before Rubiales was set to arrive—and be arrested. Then imagine the reaction of the mass of journos waiting for Rubiales when you come out. Yeah, that happened.
🚗 You think you have bad luck?
This guy in the Canary Islands named Matías lost his house in the massive volcanic eruption on La Palma in 2021. But his luck hasn’t improved. Now, his car fell off a ferry from La Gomera to Tenerife in the Canaries and sunk. His reaction? Priceless: “Now I have a house under the lava and a car under the sea; I’ve hit everything except the lottery.”
🔔 A Message From Our Sponsor
Secret Kingdoms is your English bookstore in Madrid. It specializes in Spanish history and literature, contemporary and classic novels, books for children and young adults of all ages, history and historical fiction, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, biographies and much more.
Located on Calle de Moratín 7 — a few blocks away from the Prado Museum — and with over 20,000 new and used books, Secret Kingdoms has something for everyone.
Find out more at www.thesecretkingdoms.com
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