Mad About Madrid

Suma Flamenca - Flamenco Festival Hits Madrid

For the third year running Suma Flamenca hits the streets of Madrid with a mixture of music, dance, cinema, poetry and exhibitions across not just Madrid Centre but the whole of the Madrid Community. Artists who are appearing include: Estrella Morente, Carmen Linares, Arcángel, Pitingo, Serranito, Miguel Poveda, Eva Yerbabuena and La Moneta. More information can be found on the Suma Flamenca and EsMadrid sites. The festival runs from the 17th May to the 15th June, 2008.

Ten Places to Enjoy Live Music in Madrid

The Guardian Travel supplement offers ten good (and varied) places to enjoy Live Music in Madrid. They include:

Cardamomo (Flamenco)
Café La Palma (Mix)
Populart (Jazz)
Las Tablas (Flamenco)
Honky Tonk (Rock)
El Junco Jazz Club (Jazz)
Las Carboneras (Flamenco)
Café Central (Jazz)
Clamores (Jazz, Flamenco, Pop, Folk and World music)
Sol y Sombra (Jazz, Soul, R&B and Flamenco)

2007 Festival de Otoño

For the 24th year running the Festival de Otoño returns to Madrid. A combination of music, theatre, dance and circus from around the world will entertain visitors and Madrileños for the coming 5 weeks. The event runs from the 15th October to the 18th November and is held is venues across the city.

The Theatre companies who are represented include: Britain's National Theatre, La Comédie-Française, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Josep Maria Mestres.

Dance companies attending include: Les Ballets C. de la B., Compañía Blanca Li, Toneelhuis. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Compañía Carlotta Sagna.

On the music front Caetano Veloso, Companyia Carles Santos, David Sylvian, Philip Glass and Compagnia dell' Ambra will all be performing.

For more information, visit the Festival de Otoño website.

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Veranos de la Villa - Madrid's Summer Festival

I must apologise to regular visitors to this blog for not having written an article for a while but I have been quite busy with work and developing my other website - Marketing Tom. Because of that I failed to write up about one of the big events in Madrid's calendar, the Veranos de la Villa festival. This festival runs from the 2nd July until the 26th August and offers visitors and Madrileños the ability to see around 100 shows covering music, theatre, dance, circus events and zarzuela in some of the most important venues around the city. The Sabatini gardens (next to Palacio Real), Conde Duque, Plaza Mayor, Centro Cultural de la Villa and Teatro Español are just some of those locations.

Here's a brief selection of singers who will perform - Liza Minelli, Laurie Anderson, Carlos Núñez, Andy & Lucas, David de María, Antonio Vega, Patricia Kraus and Mercedes Ferrer, Diego el Cigala, Yossou N’ Dour. Flamenco artists include: José Mercé, Carmen Linares, José Menese, Rafaela Carrasco, Manuel Molina, La Negra and Esperanza Fernández. The Patio Conde Duque will host the Boston Ballet and the Legend Lin Dance Theatre and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess is performed by the New York Harlem Theatre.

Classsic Spanish plays like Calderón de la Barca's Casa con dos puertas mala es de guardar and Shakespeare's Cymbelline will be performed in the Jardines de Galileo.

All in all, there's something for everyone.

For more (much more) information, take a look at the Veranos de la Villa microsite from EsMadrid.

Madrid Flamenco Recommendations from the Independent

The Independent newspaper yesterday published an interesting article by Chris Sullivan, where he explores Madrid's Flamenco scene. He was even lucky enough to meet up with Joaquín Cortés, Spain's most famous flamenco dancer - well, it looks like this opportunity to meet him was the main reason he went to Madrid. He recounts his experience of going to places like El Arco de Cuchilleros, the famous Café de Chinitas and the Corral de la Moreria and being mildly disappointed - his words, not mine!

Still in search of what he calls true flamenco he ended up going to Cardomomo, where Joaquín Cortés-like people performed and watched the spectacle. The next night he actually met Joaquín Cortés at Casa Patas, where he watched the evening's show. Cortés told him that, "Madrid is where some of the best flamenco is found in Spain." Chris Sullivan finally ended up going to a place, recommended by Cortes, called Candela "an old rough bar that looked just like the other old rough bars in Lavapies" and where he finally found what he had been looking for.

This article certainly seems to have dug under the surface and recommends some of the less-touristy flamenco options available in Madrid.

More information can be found on the Independent -  Last dance saloon: Step into Madrid's authentic flamenco scene.

On a Summer's Day It Has To Be Días de Verano

Driving to work this morning, with the sun shining brightly, there was only one song that I fancied playing: Amaral's Días de Verano (or Summer Days). I know the song is not from this year but who cares - my kids and wife love it! Click the YouTube video below to enjoy!

I Love Paris (in Madrid!)

On the 13th, 14th and 15th April, 2007 the Madrid Players are putting on a show called I Love Paris Spring Revue. According to their blog, I Love Paris:

is a tribute to the music of the City of Lights: by the American composers who fell under her spell, and the French artistes who have served as her ambassadors to the world. From Irving Berlin to Jacques Brel, from Cole Porter to Edith Piaf, The Madrid Players’ newest musical revue will feature some of the best songs of Broadway and the Grands Boulevards, all with that certain je ne sais quoi of Parisian flair!

The Madrid Players are an amateur group, comprising some 60 people, which was fouunded thirty years ago. One third of the proceeds of the show will go to Alanda, an NGO for children with autism spectrum disorders. For more information an ticket details, visit the Madrid Players website.

Rolling Stones to Announce Tour Dates

If you're a Rolling Stones fan, you may want to listen out for a press conference that they will give on Thursday, 22nd March. It has been rumoured that they will play the Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid on the 28th June, 2007. Watch out for more news tomorrow.

**UPDATE**
The Rolling Stones have confirmed that they will play Madrid's Vicente Calderón on the 28th June, 2007. 

December Suggestions from Metrópoli

Metrópoli has a really good guide to what you can do in Madrid this December - it is in Spanish, though. They have come up with 150 suggestions for what you can do in the coming weeks - eat, drink, be merry and much more. Interestingly, they have broken them down into 15 categories - based on different types of personality. These range from the sportsman (woman), the art lover, the over 65's, under 18's, the shopaholics, singles, and a good few more. There are some really cool suggestions here - there is even a category for those who think they're cool!!

Christmas Programme for Madrid

If you'd like an "exhaustive" programme of activities on in Madrid this Christmas, download [pdf] the esMadrid magazine. Be aware this is quite a "beefy" 8MB pdf!!