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.
