💡The Tapa Weekend: October 27
A lights festival, a fashion exhibit from the last two centuries and an animation festival.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | October 27, 2023 | Madrid | Issue #27
🎉 Welcome to a new issue 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
It’s almost time to trick or treat in Madrid. And while most Halloween parties will probably take place next weekend, there are still many other fun things to do this Saturday and Sunday.
Did you have fun hanging out with the sheep last weekend? We’re sure you did, and while you will have to wait for a full year to do that again, here are a few options for this weekend. You can’t deny Madrid knows how to put on a fun plan.
1. Madrid’s International Lights Festival
If there’s one thing you do this weekend, make sure you partake in the second edition of LuzMadrid, Madrid’s international lights festival, which was created in 2021 to celebrate the recognition of the Paisaje de la Luz (basically de Paseo del Prado and Retiro Park areas) as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Stunning visual installations will be set up in four major areas of Madrid: El Retiro and Paseo del Arte, Plaza España and the Royal Palace, Matadero-Arganzuela and Carabanchel. You can check the festival’s so-called “map of light” and browse through all of the different installations here. Trust us, they are all pretty trippy so it will be hard for you to just pick just one.
Artists from France, Finland, and Argentina are joining Spanish light-meisters this year, turning this into an internationally otherworldly visual experience.
LuzMadrid. See website for installations and locations. Oct. 27-29. 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Free of charge.
2. Maria Callas in concert: The Hologram Tour
Remember back in 2012 when rapper Tupac Shakur appeared as a hologram and performed at Coachella? And, like, everyone literally lost their minds and people were like, “wow, the future!”? Well, that’s in the past and now holographic performances are a thing—and something we’re sure American-Greek opera legend Maria Callas (who died in 1977) never imagined she’d be a part of.
As it turns out, she is. And she will be “performing” on stage as a hologram this Sunday at the Gran Teatro CaixaBank Principe Pío. Callas—well, her hologram—will perform her greatest songs and opera arias, accompanied by the 20 musicians that form the CaixaBank Symphony Orchestra.
The same production was recently staged at the Salle Pleyel in Paris, and it seeks to bring back the magnificent voice of a soprano that is considered to be one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century. (We’re looking at you, kids, who probably have no idea who she is). Go check her—well, her hologram—out if you can.
Maria Callas in Concert. Gran Teatro CaixaBank Principe Pío. Cuesta de San Vicente, 44, Madrid. Oct. 29, 1 p.m. Tickets start at €18.
3. Arder y No Quemarse: The Teatro Español through the centuries
This is an interesting one because it’s pretty meta. Arder y no Quemarse is a theatrical production in Madrid’s iconic Teatro Español (Spanish Theater) that tells the incredible story of the building itself.
The Teatro Español is 440 years old and it’s the oldest active one in Europe. It’s seen a lot of stuff. So this play is about what this building endures over four centuries of history, the actors that work in it and how they all relate to what is happening in Spain. During the play, the actors on stage go through some of the key moments in the history of local theater and the country itself. Cool, right?
The original screenplay is by Jose Padilla, and it's performed by the Grumelot company, starring Bentor Albelo, Pablo Chaves, Carlota Gaviño, Pepe Hannan, Javier Lara, Mikele Urroz, María Gálvez, Cristina Martínez Gutiérrez, and Marc Domingo Carulla. It’s directed by Iñigo Rodríguez-Claro with musical direction by Pepe Hannan.
Arder y No Quemarse. Teatro Español, Calle del Príncipe, 25, Madrid. Performs daily until Oct. 29. 7 p.m. Tickets start at €6.
4. Fashion in La Casa de Alba
Alright, listen up. You don’t have to be a royalist to appreciate fashion (especially really old fashion). And even if you don’t appreciate fashion, this is a good opportunity for you to learn a bit more about the history of Spain.
The Casa de Alba (or House of Alba) is a pretty famous and influential Spanish noble family that goes all the way up to the 12th century. And this fashion exhibit taking place at the Liria Palace (you know, the one right by Plaza España) highlights the close relationship between the House of Alba and the world of fashion, both as clients and as patrons.
Presenting “one of the most beautiful dialogues between art, fashion and heritage to the public” (and we’re all about beautiful dialogues), this exhibit covers two centuries of fashion and goes from Empress Eugenia de Montijo (you don’t know who she is and that’s OK) to the present day, showcasing over 100 pieces like dresses, uniforms and other stuff.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering whether this is instagrammable enough, the answer is yes. There are clothes by Balenciaga, Dior, and other big names that will make your Insta stories pop up and look super cool! /endsarcasm.
The exhibit is curated by Lorenzo Caprile and Eloy Martínez de la Pera
Fashion in La Casa de Alba. Liria Palace. Calle de la Princesa, 20, Madrid. Through March 31. Tickets start at €10.
5. Animario: International Festival of Contemporary Animation
Calling all animation film enthusiasts! Animario is the International Contemporary Animation Festival of Madrid and it’s returning from this weekend for it’s sixth edition. This year, the focus is on Portuguese animation and the pinscreen technique.
Animario has a lot to offer besides some really cool films (see video above to know what we mean). There are introductory and specialized animation workshops, the screening of the finalist films for the V Animario Award for Best International Short Film, the Animario PRO forum, and much more.
As it always does, this edition will feature high-profile artists in the animation world such as Regina Pessoa, José Luis Ágreda, Rodrigo Blaas, Nuria González Blanco, Silvia Prietov, and many more whose films are screened at Cineteca Madrid.
Animario. Cineteca Madrid, Pl. de Legazpi, 8, Madrid. Through Oct. 29. Check program for activities and schedules.
👨🏻💻 Viral Story of the Week
🤭 Piqué takes a tumble!
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Apparently no one told former FC Barça start Gerard Piqué that paying too much attention to your mobile phone can be dangerous! Piqué was in Mexico for the presentation of the new teams in his King’s League of football/soccer (you pick)—kind of a seven-a-side footy for the people—when he went to sign a fan’s jersey.
But, móvil = dangerous, right? The old Barcelona star didn’t notice a giant gap between the stage and the fans and—whoops!—disappeared from view in a flash!
Piqué wasn’t injured, but the mockery was brutal. "Shakira factura y Piqué fractura" (you know the song that refers to, right?, “La carrera de Piqué después del breakup con Shak” (ha!), and it goes on.
At least Piqué took it in stride…
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🔔 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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