🎭 The Tapa Weekend: January 19
A classic Russian play, cool street markets and (finally!) another food ruta.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | January 19, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #37
🎉 Welcome to a new issue of The Tapa: Weekend Edition! An English-language newsletter about what to do this weekend in Madrid (plus memes!)
🤑 The Tapa begun offering paid subscriptions last month, and we’d be deeply thrilled if you purchased one to help build this enterprise we’ve had so much fun creating. And a big THANK YOU to those who already support us!
🇪🇸 If you haven’t subscribed at all yet, hit that button below so you have some fresh ideas in your inbox every Friday about where to go and what to do.
🫶 And if you have, please share this with your friends!
Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
Hello Madrid insiders! If you’re looking for some weekend inspiration, look no further.
From street markets to another must-try food ruta, we've got the lowdown on what's hot in the city.
Get ready for a weekend that’s cold, yes, but also filled with fun things to do. You’re welcome.
1. A Play: Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya
In the mood for theater classics to escape this ugly winter? We’ve got a treat for you: Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya (which in Spain is obviously called Tío Vania).
This classic play, starring Luis Flor, Alejandro Tous, and María Pastor is only available for 10 days in Madrid, so get your tickets while they last.
This new adaptation based on Chekhov’s text is a comedy about the tragic sense of life. Director Juan Pastor “believes that humor, modesty, and the economy of means are very present in the works of the Russian playwright” and “in his plays, humor is constant and blends with melancholy and disillusionment.”
The story revolves around a group of characters living on a rural estate and focuses on the interactions and conflicts among them. The central character is Vanya, an “embittered and disillusioned man” who has dedicated his life to managing the estate for his brother-in-law, Professor Serebryakov.
Trouble begins when Serebryakov and his young daughter Yelena arrive at the estate. Beware.
If you’re a theater fan, don’t miss this one.
Tío Vania. Plaza de Colón 4, Fernán Gómez Centro Cultural de la Villa, Madrid. Tuesdays to Sundays, Through Jan. 28. Check website for opening hours. Tickets: €20.
2. Another Play: Donkey (Burro)
Now we go from the cold of rural Russia… to the cold of rural Spain.
If you’re looking for a story with a little more “local” flavor, we have a great option for you. Starring Carlos Hipólito, Burro (Donkey) is a monologue that explores the relationship between humans and animals through history.
The play takes place in an empty estate, where a donkey tied to a stake recounts its life to its shadow as a forest fire approaches.
The donkey takes us on a journey through the great classical texts of literature, from classical Greece to the present day, describing scenes and fragments from fables by Aesop, Iriarte, and Samaniego, Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes, A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare, and Platero and I by Juan Ramón Jiménez.
The play combines humor, melancholy and reflection and stars Carlos Hipólito, Fran García, Iballa Rodríguez, and Manuel Lavandera. The play is directed by Yayo Cáceres.
Burro. Teatro Reina Victoria, Carrera de S. Jerónimo, 24, Madrid. Check website for schedule. Tickets start at €20.
3. Copla Fusion Music: Maria de Juan
As part of the Inverfest 2024 at the Conde Duque Cultural Center, singer Maria de Juan is presenting Dramatica, a reinterpretation of Spanish copla “wrapped in a cinematic imaginary” and combining string instruments, trumpets, drums, and percussion with synthesizers and samples. The result is a new electronic pop base that replaces the traditional orchestral lines of copla.
This fusion treats the voice and organic instruments typical of Spanish copla as contemporary pop or electronic productions. “With direct lyrics, a powerful image, and songs that can be sung or danced to, copla was the music of the streets, the ‘urban’ of its time,” explains the Conde Duque website.
Maria presents this production live joined by musicians with backgrounds in classical, flamenco, jazz, and fusion: Cristina Sánchez, Juanito Rubio, and Alejandro Solano (winner of the Filón Prize at the International Cante de las Minas Festival in 2019). Get your tickets now.
Maria de Juan’s Dramática. Centro Cultural Conde Duque, Calle del Conde Duque 11, Madrid. Saturday, Jan 20, 8 p.m.. Tickets: €14.
4. Food Route: V Ruta del Garbanzo Madrileño
Here’s a great way to celebrate the first food ruta of the year: Chickpeas! (Because who doesn’t love chickpeas, and especially when they are in a delicious cocido?!)
The 5th Madrid Chickpea Route (Ruta del Garbanzo Madrileño) is back this month for two weekends only, with various cities and multiple restaurants participating in it.
This weekend, you’ll be able to choose from a wide variety of menus featuring signature dishes which, as you can imagine, all include chickpeas. On top of that, you’ll get to sample a glass of wine from the Madrid region.
If you join the ruta and vote for your favorite dish, you’ll be eligible for a prize at the end of the month that is… the equivalent of your body weight in chickpeas! (Seriously).
There are other prizes that you can check at the ruta’s official website below.
5ta Ruta del Garbanzo Madrileño. Check website for (the many, many) participating venues in the Madrid region.
5. Mercado de las Ranas street market
The Mercado de las Ranas is back this Saturday so if you’re wondering where to spend your hard earned euros, this is the place.
This street market (which we’ve covered before) is similar to the Portobello Road or Candem Town markets in London. This Saturday, stores participating in this mercado in Plaza Santa Ana, in the Las Letras district, bring their goods outside into the street so visitors can buy their favorite book, t-shirt or grab a slice of pizza on the go.
If there’s one thing we love about Madrid (and there are actually many), it’s the street market scene, and this one doesn’t disappoint. After a bit of retail therapy, grab a table at the plaza and sip a cool caña. You’re welcome.
Mercado de las Ranas. All along Calle de las Huertas in Las Letras, Madrid. Saturday, Jan. 20, 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
👨🏻💻 Viral Stories of the Week
🎾 John McEnroe speak Spanish! (Well, a little)
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Tennis great/krabby patty John McEnroe interviewed Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaráz after his first round victory at the Australian Open. The crowd interruption and John give it to them—in Spanish. “¡Callate la boca!”
🐷 First rule of Spain: Respect the jamón
A bystander in Ibiza (the island, not the Madrid barrio) finds a high-end jamón in the garbage after the holidays. Shocked, she tapes her response. An unwanted part of a cesta de navidad discarded by a vegan? Tossed by a vengeful lover? Or just complete madness? As everyone knows, in Spain, el jamón no se toca. The story, which started online and then jumped into the Diario de Ibiza, made its way onto Cadena SER’s Hoy por Hoy podcast. Yes, the bafflement was that big (h/t Friend of Tapa Liz O).
🔔 A Message From Our Sponsor
Secret Kingdoms is your English bookstore in Madrid. It specializes in Spanish history and literature, contemporary and classic novels, books for children and young adults of all ages, history and historical fiction, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, biographies and much more.
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
🙏 Once again, please remember to share this newsletter with your friends on social media. The more we grow, the more information we’ll be able to offer each week.
We’ll be back next week with more.