By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | April 21, 2023 | Madrid | Issue #4
đ Welcome to a new issue of The Tapa: Weekend Edition! An English-language newsletter about what to do this weekend in Spain (plus memes because why the hell not).
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đž 5 Things to Do in Spain This Weekend
It looks like spring has finally sprung! And while weâre still going through that âShould I bring my sweater just in case?â period, thereâs no denying that the warm, sunny days are here to make us feel all fuzzy inside. When the tourists start wearing the tank tops around Malasaña even though itâs only 15ÂșC, thatâs when you know the cold days are officially leaving us. They are our very own Punxsutawney Phil, only slightly more inebriated.
Here are some options for the weekend. Youâre welcome.
1. Piano City Madrid 2023
Exciting news for music lovers who are tired of the four-four kick drum rhythm that is the reggaeton beat! The second edition of Piano City Madrid is here and we couldnât be more delighted. Featuring over 50 pianos strategically located around town, this city-wide event offers free live concerts for anyone into EDM, jazz, classical or house music. The pianos are mostly located around central Madrid (Cuesta de Moyano, Condeduque Cultural Center, etc) and there is a total of 55 concerts scheduled. Since itâs likely that lots of people will be interested in attending (itâs free, remember?), we recommend you head over to the Piano City Madrid website, download the program, pick a concert and get your tickets now. PS: The big finale will take place on Sunday at 8 p.m. at the Ateneo de Madrid, with a live show featuring award-winning Spanish pianist Rosa Torres-Pardo.
Piano City Madrid. Multiple locations. April 21-22-23. Free.
2. La Noche de los Libros
Books. The ancient enemies of Kindles and social media. Sure, books are super passé because no one reads anymore. But at least here in Madrid, for a single night each year, we pay homage to the long lost art of reading stuff.
For one night only (tonight), La Noche de los Libros celebrates literature all around Madrid, with over 130 libraries, 100 book stores and cultural centers organizing free activities that include debates, conferences, round tables and literary/musical workshops. Many of them involve listening live to literary geniuses such as Rosa Montero, Emmanuel CarrĂšre or Elia BarcelĂł. You can download a PDF with the whole program here in an inconvenient horizontal format. Check it all out, itâs worth it. Because as Cervantes said in his classic epic novel Don Quixote (a book you probably never read but looks good on your shelf): âThere is no book so bad...that it does not have something good in it.â
La Noche de los Libros. April 21. Multiple locations. Free.
3. FĂșria: An Artistic Depiction of Life in Rioâs Favelas
Brazilian choreographer Lia Rodrigues has created a piece of contemporary dance that symbolically recreates what itâs like to live in the Rio de Janeiroâs MarĂ©, Brazil's largest agglomeration of favelas with an estimated population of 140,000. Along with students of her MarĂ© dance school (half of them living in the favelas themselves), Rodrigues has created a series of choreographies that represent âthe beauty, the survival and emergencyâ that comes with living in one of the Rioâs most complex and dangerous areas. The show includes references to power dynamics, oppressed communities and carnival. Warning: the play features full frontal nudity so it may not be for everyone.
Lia Rodriguesâ Furia. Centro Cultural Condeduque. Calle del Conde Duque 11, Madrid. April 22, 8 p.m. April 23, 7 p.m. âŹ22.
4. Ruta de la Tapa in Ciudad Lineal â23
We know that anything beyond the M-30 highway is outside of your comfort zone but maybe itâs time to try something new. And what better motivation than yet another ruta de la tapa, where you can get great tapas and drinks for a ridiculously low price? Starting this weekend with the Ventas and Pueblo Nuevo areas, in the Madrid neighborhood of Ciudad Lineal, 27 restaurants and bars will offer a deal that will keep you salivating: a tapa and a drink (a caña, a glass of wine or soda) for âŹ3,50. You can download the program on PDF format here. It includes all of the participating venues, their addresses, opening hours and even a nice little map for those of you who see anything beyond the Plaza de Toros and think, âHere be dragonsâ.
Ruta de la Tapa de Ciudad Lineal, Ciudad Lineal, Madrid. Multiple Locations. Free. (Well, actually âŹ3,50 but you know what we mean).
5. Get Folksy with Ziggy Alberts
Australian folk singer-songwriter Ziggy Alberts arrives in Madrid this weekend for one night of feel-good melodies as part of hist European REWIND tour. His surfing vibes-infused music sounds like the soundtrack to a chill Saturday morning, with deeply personal lyrics to boot. Alberts is promoting his fifth and latest album, Dancing in the Dark (see video above). So if youâre looking to spend a chill Saturday evening with friends or your significant other, donât miss this one. Even if youâre a first time listener, youâll be leaving the venue humming his music and feeling content.
Ziggy Alberts, REWIND Tour. Sala Paqui. Calle de BarcelĂł, 11. Madrid. April 21, 9 p.m. Tickets from âŹ24,50.
đšđ»âđ» Headlines of the week
These are some of the most ridiculous or viral stories in Spain this week that didnât make our Thursday edition but we felt deserved a (dis)honorable mention today.
đ Someone probably lost their job over this PP ad
Weâre little over a month away from the municipal and regional elections and political parties are already out there doing anything they can to get attention from voters.
And while weâre used to seeing some pretty bad ads during election season, the center-right PP captured everyoneâs attention (in the wrong way) a few days ago after releasing a new ad that includes the 178 candidates that are running in the community of Madrid (including President of the Madrid region Isabel DĂaz Ayuso and Madrid mayor JosĂ© Luis MartĂnez Almeida).
Enjoy.
OK. Thereâs a lot to unpack here. And before you ask, no. It has not been edited for comedic effect.
First, snapping your fingers has not been cool since the 1966 series finale of The Addams Family (and no, Thanos doesnât count). Also, if youâre going to ask candidates to snap their fingers for the camera, at least make sure you add a snapping sound in post-production, for Christâs sake.
Then thereâs the awkward clapping, the cringe-inducing voices singing âganasâ, the out-of-sync editing and the zooming camera angles. And in the middle of all of this, thereâs DĂaz Ayuso, who looks like she suspects this ad wasnât the best idea.
Please let it end.
đ©âđł How (not) to cook Spanish food, Episode 47,563
The sins committed against Spanish cuisine and the violent reactions from Spaniards to them is a longstanding staple that existed long before Jamie Oliverâs addition of chorizo to paella united all of España in anger. And so, in honor of Friend-of-Tapa Simon Hunterâs April Foolâs day joke tortilla (weâll allow you to delve into the Twitter wormhole of shock at his added ingredients here), we present you with How Not to Cook Cocido Madrileño (yes, we get that thereâs a little irony in this one, too).
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Weâll be back next week with more.