🍹The Tapa Weekend: June 7
Pianos under the sky, a ceramics contemporary art fair and rooftops galore!
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | June 7, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #57
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
Happy Friday, everyone!
It’s election weekend (again) but fret not because it is very probable that a) you don’t care and, most importantly, b) you don’t vote (not that you shouldn’t, you should, but you’re probably not a registered voter here, is what we mean).
Election or no election, we still bring you the coolest and most original (at least according to us) options for you this warm weekend.
Enjoy!
1. Madrid Piano City 2024
Get ready for this one, piano fans!
Madrid is hosting the third edition of Piano City Madrid, a music festival with 62 free concerts held around the city. From jazz to EDM, flamenco to classical, this festival has it all.
This year’s edition takes place in 10 different venues, including theaters, auditoriums and outdoor stages (Plaza Matadero, Teatro Albéniz, Centro Cultural Condeduque and CentroCentro are some of the participating locations).
Some 70 local and international musicians will be performing this weekend, including (for the first time) German pianist and creator of the Piano City project, Andreas Kern, who will perform on June 8 at Espacio Cultural Serrería Belga.
The Cuesta de Moyano matinée will feature live music in front of the booksellers' stalls, highlighted by a concert dedicated to Ludovico Einaudi, performed by Esther Toledano. At CentroCentro, there will be a tribute to European culture by Spanish pianist Susana Gómez Vázquez, presenting her new project "Sisters of the Moon." Plaza Central at Matadero Madrid will host the Plenitude Stage, which will transform into a fusion jazz party with flamenco and Latin rhythms.
As you can see, there’s something for everyone, so check the program below and pick the one you like. (No, there’s no reggaeton. Jesus, try something else for a change.)
Madrid Piano City 2024. Multiple locations around Madrid. June 7-9. Check website for locations and schedules.
2. cerARTmic Madrid 24
If pianos are not your thing but for some weird coincidence you’re a craft enthusiast, then get ready for cerARTmic Madrid 2024, Spain’s first contemporary art and ceramics fair! (That sounded a lot more exciting in our heads.)
cerARTmic (ugh, that name) is a place that’s designed to “develop, sustain and expand the practice of innovative ceramics” and where “artists, collectors and gallerists come together” to enjoy “this ancient discipline with a completely modern and contemporary vision”
15 galleries, big and small, will exhibit artworks by leading contemporary artists who use ceramics as their medium of expression. (Also—side note—when you think of pottery and ceramics, do you think of this? Because we do. Probably because we’re not Gen Zers.)
But that’s not all! cerARTmic Madrid will also feature “ceramics workshops, expert roundtable discussions, studio visits, and special routes related to local ceramics”.
So yeah, while the name sucks, this could be a good opportunity to pick up that hobby you wanted. It’s never too late to be Demi Moore.
cerARTmic Madrid 24. Palacio Santa Barbara, Calle Hortaleza, 87, Madrid. Through June 9. Check website for schedules and activities. Tickets start at €7.
3. Madrid a Cielo Abierto 2024 — The Secret Life of Rooftops
Well, here’s this week’s winner: rooftop activities! Because let’s face it, except for those with a fear of heights, who doesn’t like rooftops?
The Madrid Hotel Business Association (AEHM) is once again organizing the sixth edition of Madrid a Cielo Abierto, in which many hotels in the city open up their rooftops, gardens and terraces to host an extensive program of activities to celebrate the arrival of summer. And they are really cool activities such as eating, drinking (obvi) and music. Interested yet?
You can choose from 50 different activities “including aroma workshops, cocktail shows, day passes for pools, afternoon events, flamenco shows, art events, cocktails, and barbecue lunches”.
What’s better, the hotels participating are some of the best in town: Hotel Riu Plaza España, Pestana CR7 Gran Vía Madrid, Canopy by Hilton Madrid Castellana, The Principal Madrid Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Madrid, Thompson Madrid and many, many more. What’s even better, this edition is supported by Ikea, which has “decorated the event spaces with furniture inspired by the secrecy and mysticism of the campaign's theme, evoking the origin of terraces in Madrid in the 1930s and 1940s”. So…not with Ikea furniture?
Madrid noir, baby! Don't miss this one.
Madrid a Cielo Abierto 2024. Multiple locations around Madrid. Through June 9. Check website for locations and schedules.
4. South Summit Street Fest 2024
If Madrid in the 1940s is not your thing (we were in a dictatorship, after all), you can head over to the South Summit Street Fest to experience Madrid in the 2040s (with the way things are going in the world, we’ll certainly also be under some sort of dictatorship but at least we’ll have flying cars soylent green Playstation 8. But we digress).
This futuristic festival is back on the city streets showcasing the latest in innovation, start ups and tech. This year, you can find its epicenter at the Plaza de España. In fact, you will notice from afar its impressive 3D designed pavilion made of wood and reusable materials.
This year’s festival focuses on eight major innovation areas: mobility, drones, 3D printing, VR, AI, biotech, robots and gaming. Consider this a “unique opportunity to see, touch, and try out the technologies that will change our lives” while listening to the entrepreneurs and inventors themselves, who are present there.
Oh, and today is the festival’s last day so you may want to get there pronto. There will be a (free) closing concert this evening, featuring French DJ, singer, and electronic music producer Martin Solveig, Spanish pop-indie singer Judeline, and the Madrid-based band Club del Río.
Vermouth, drones and a French DJ. Doesn’t get any cooler than that.
South Summit Street Fest 20204. Plaza de España s/n, Madrid. June 7. Check website for schedules. Tickets: €219 (yes, the future is expensive)
5. A Play: El Fin (The End)
If you’re tired of your own dramas and want to see other people suffering for a change, then this apocalyptic comedy may be an interesting, cathartic option for you this weekend.
The plot revolves around a high school teacher who is suddenly told by the government that she has 10 hours to live. As she starts running around to say goodbye and try to fulfill her last wishes, she realizes that even though she’s had a long bucket list, she’s never done anything to check things off of it.
This triggers a period of introspection in her, in which she asks how a 40-something has not had time to pursue her dreams, needs and desires. She also realizes maybe “it’s time to turn off the phone, close the computer, stop this self-exploitation” and take some time to look inside ourselves and think about what makes us happy.
The play is the winner of the Teatro Español’s II International Comedy Contest and is led by actress Toni Acosta. At a time when we’re glue to our cell phones 24/7, this may be the wake up call we all need. At least for a weekend.
El Fin. Teatro Español, Calle del Principe 25, Madrid. Through July 7. Check website for schedule. Tickets start at €6.
👨🏻💻 Viral Stories of the Week
🦇 Ozzy Osbourne would have bit its head off
Gossip Girl actress and The Pretty Reckless singer Taylor Momsen thought her band was just opening for AC/DC in Sevilla. But really, she was meant to be a bat’s lunch (!).
🍸 When you drink too much at a wedding and try to sleep it off…
🔔 A Message From Our Sponsor
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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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