❄️ The Tapa Weekend: January 12
A vintage exhibit, more flamenco shows and lots of pet-centric activities!
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | January 12, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #36
🎉 Welcome to a new issue (slightly late—but it’s our first week back!) of The Tapa: Weekend Edition! An English-language newsletter about what to do this weekend in Madrid (plus memes!)
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
We’re back, everyone! And we like to think you missed us (unless you live outside Madrid, like, in Cuenca. In that case you probably couldn’t care less about this).
It’s been a busy start of the year—at least politically—and it already feels like we need a drink to decompress. With the holidays in the rearview mirror and now that we’re all back to our daily routine, here are a few cool things for you to do this weekend.
PS: Winter is back with a vengeance so make sure you dress accordingly!
1. Jaleos Jondos: A Flamenco Show Worth Seeing
What do you get when you mix multiple flamenco stars, a former Cirque du Soleil director and a Latin Grammy Award-winning musical producer? That’s right: Jaleos Jondos, a one-of-a-kind flamenco show that will take you through three centuries of music history.
Jaleos Jondos "is a groundbreaking, profound and eclectic proposal” that showcases the historical tradition of flamenco dance and its evolution, bridging the cultural and heritage aspects of its early essence with the contemporary avant-garde (and so on).
The show takes the audience from the roots of the Gypsy diaspora to the electrifying sounds of modern flamenco and pays homage to the historical tradition of the 12 flamenco styles.
And on top of all this, you can even get a tapas menu during the show that is “inspired” by the show’s narrative.
Jaleo Jondos is directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca (known for Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo and Luzia) and its musical direction and production is by multi-Latin Grammy winner, Javier Limón (Lágrimas Negras). Get your tickets asap!
Jaleos Jondos. Teatro Magno. C. de Cedaceros, 7, Madrid. Check website for schedule. Tickets start at €48,60 (pricey but worth it).
2. Everywoman: a Powerful Drama in German (with Spanish Subtitles)
If you’re feeling philosophical this weekend, then here’s a good plan for you. Everywoman is a German play about two women that will make you question what really matters in life and what remains once we’re gone.
The story follows a successful actress who meets a woman who’s been diagnosed with a deadly disease. Her last wish is to perform one last time in a play. An intimate conversation ensues—about the past and the future, about life, death, loneliness, and community.
The origin of the play all started in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a woman named Helga Bedau wrote to Swiss actress Ursina Lardi, telling her she didn't have much time left to live and regretted not being able to go to the theater more—and she would have loved to be on stage herself.
Lardi and Swiss theater director Milo Rau went to see her at her home in Berlin and filmed her. In response to her final wishes, Bedau is now transported to the stage, in a play in which Lardi engages in a dialogue with her through the recording.
Deeply moving. Worth seeing. Oh, and the play is in German with Spanish subtitles.
Everywoman. Teatro María Guerrero, C/Tamayo y Baus, 4, Madrid. This Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. (Sunday at 12 p.m). Tickets start at €12.
3. Feeling Nostalgic? The Invasión Vintage Exhibit is For You Then
Pretty sure “Invasión Vintage” doesn’t need translation. If you know know what a gremlin is, if you think Jack Nicholson was the original Joker and you know what ICQ was, then this is the sort of exhibit you’ve been hoping for. It also means you’re most definitely not a Gen Zer.
This exhibit is designed for nostalgic people and “vintage enthusiasts”, as it takes them (us?) through the most popular products and characters from the 1970s to this day: movies, TV shows, video games, comics, cartoons, music, and technology.
The exhibit, which consists of a total of 1000 iconic pieces, examines how society has changed from the 70s until now and how brands have adapted to new codes, markets, and genres. (The circle of life: vinyl, cassette, CD, MP3 and vinyl again.)
So come over and reminisce about VHS tapes, Game Boys and floppy disks! (If you don’t know what any of those things are, don’t come, keep watching your tik toks).
Invasión Vintage. Exhibition Hall of the Casa de Vacas del Retiro Cultural Center, Paseo de Colombia, 1 (At the Retiro Park, basically). Through Jan. 28. Mondays to Sundays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Free admission.
4. Fiestas de San Antón: Celebrate Your Pet in Style
Legend holds that San Antón (aka Anthony the Great), while living as a hermit monk in Egypt (as one does), performed the miracle of restoring sight to a blind boar. Since then, San Antón has been considered the patron and protector of animals, and celebrated throughout Spain with pilgrimages and various activities.
Madrid is no exception to this celebration, having engaged in it so since the 18th century with "Las vueltas de San Antón" and the blessing of animals and pets at the Church of San Antón (on Calle Hortaleza ), among many other activities. And people take this very seriously. You’ll see priests blessing dogs, cats, rabbits, sheep (yes, sheep) and whatever pet people like to have these days.
This Saturday, there are tons of pet-related activities in the Chueca/Cibeles area. From dog parades to street markets, the San Antón festivities have it all. Yes, it’s cold outside but you may also get to pet a kitten so it’s worth the effort.
Festividad de San Antón. Chueca/Cibeles area, Madrid. Check program for activities this weekend.
5. Maestrissimo: A Comedy Musical Show by Yllana
Maestrissimo is a show that is "allegro e molto vivace," halfway between a chamber concert, satirical comedy, and a period portrait. Created by comedy theater company Yllana, the show portrays the adventures (and misadventures) of a string quartet in an undetermined period between the 17th and 18th centuries (Baroque and Neoclassicism).
“A second-rate musician with no last name but exceptional talent, will try to climb the ranks and attain the title of ‘maestrissimo.’—Will his talent and genius be enough to carve out a place in such a hierarchical world? Will he achieve the prestige he rightfully deserves?”
Maestrissimo will delight you with meticulous aesthetics and hilarious characters, addressing themes such as ethics, creation, originality, and the value of art in society, while also revisiting pinnacle moments of classical music.
Maestrissimo. Teatro Infanta Isabel, Calle del Barquillo, 24, Madrid. Friday at 7 p.m.. Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m.. Tickets start at €18.
👨🏻💻 Viral Story of the Week
🫵 ¡Don’t mess with Sofía Vergara!
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El Hormiguero host and chronic foot-in-mouther Pablo Motos interviewed actress Sofía Vergara this week about her new Netflix series Griselda, and when the chatter turned to the series that made her famous—that is, Modern Family—he tried to poke fun at how she pronounced its name in English. Oh Pablo, Pablo, Pablo…bad idea. In the words of Vergara, “How many Emmy nominations do you have in the United States? How many times did they nominate you at the Golden Globes?” Snap! 🔥
🔔 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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