|
| |
|
MADRID'S FIESTAS |
| |
Look out for fiestas whenever you're in Madrid: there are dozens,
some of which involve the whole city, others just an individual barrio .
The more important dates are listed below.
Also well worth checking out are cultural festivals organized by the
city council, in particular the Veranos de la Villa (July-Sept) and
Festival de Otoño (Sept-Nov) concerts (classical, rock, flamenco),
theatre and cinema. Many events are free and, in the summer, often open
air, taking place in the city's parks and squares. One of the nicest
venues is the courtyard of the Antiguo Cuartel del Conde Duque (Métro:
Ventura Rodríguez), where weekly flamenco recitals are held. Annual
festivals for alternative theatre (Feb), flamenco (Feb), dance (mid-May
to mid-June), photography (mid-June to mid-July) and jazz (Nov) are also
firmly established on the cultural agenda. Full programmes are published
in the monthly En Madrid tourist hand-out.
JANUARY
5 Cabalgata de los Reyes (Cavalcade of the Three Kings); an evening
procession through the city centre in which children are showered with
sweets.
FEBRUARY
Week before Lent Carnaval - is the excuse for a lot of partying and
fancy-dress parades, especially in the gay zone around Chueca. The end
of Carnaval is marked by the bizarre and entertaining parade, El
Entierro de la Sardina (The Burial of the Sardine), on the Paseo de la
Florida.
MARCH/APRIL
Easter Week Semana Santa is celebrated in Madrid, but with less spirit
and processional activity than in Toledo.
MAY
2 Fiesta del Dos de Mayo in Malasaña and elsewhere in Madrid. Bands and
partying around the Plaza Dos de Mayo - a bit low-key in recent years,
having been the funkiest festival in the city during the 1980s.
15 Fiestas de San Isidro - Madrid's patron saint - spread for a week
either side of this date, and are among the country's biggest festivals.
A nonstop round of carnival events: bands, parades and loads of free
entertainment, usually centred around Plaza Mayor. There's a band each
night in the Jardines de las Vistillas (south of the Palacio Real), and
the evenings there start out with chotis (a dance typical of Madrid)
music and dancing. The fiestas also herald the start of the bullfighting
season.
JUNE
13 Fiesta de la Ermita de San Antonio de la Florida ; events around the
church and in the adjacent Parque de la Bombilla.
17-24 Fiestas de San Juan ; bonfires and fireworks in El Retiro.
JULY
9-16 La Virgen del Carmen ; local fiesta in Chamberí barrio , north of
the city centre.
AUGUST
6-15 Castizo fiestas . Traditional fiestas of San Cayetano, San Lorenzo
and La Virgen de la Paloma in La Latina and Lavapiés barrios . Much of
the activity takes place around the Plaza de la Paja and the Jardines de
las Vistillas.
DECEMBER
31 New Year's Eve ( nochevieja ) is celebrated at bars, restaurants and
parties all over the city, and there are bands in some of the squares.
Puerta del Sol is the customary place to gather, waiting for the strokes
of the clock - it is traditional to swallow a grape on each strike.
|
| |
|
