๐จ The Tapa Weekend: May 5
Featuring street art, a documentary festival and yet another museum for instagrammers.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | May 5, 2023 | Madrid | Issue #6
๐ 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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โ๏ธ 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
We barely just started the work week to find out itโs suddenly Friday again. Not that weโre complaining, of course, but this week went by relatively fast. Maybe itโs the longer days and the tintos de verano that put us in a better mood, but we must admit weโre excited about going back to partying responsibly celebrating the end of labor. So from street art to fresh produce markets and French EDM, here are our top picks for the weekend. Youโre welcome.
1. Let Your Inner Artist Go Wild at Pinta Malasaรฑa 2023
Madridโs urban art festival Pinta Malasaรฑa is back for its eight edition so if youโre into letting your frustrated artist persona take over for a few hours, make sure you donโt make any plans this Sunday.
Malasaรฑa is known for its hipster cafes and quaint streets, but also for its street art. Over 100 artists will create art interventions in the area (in storefronts and private homes), reimagining one of the coolest neighborhoods in Madrid once more. Not only that, but the Condeduque Cultural Center and the Espacio Pinta Malasaรฑa will act as hubs for related activities that day such as free workshops, face and street painting and even prizes to the best artworks. Now that weโve got good weather, taking an afternoon stroll while looking at people (legally) spray paint the walls doesnโt sound like such a bad idea, does it? Check their website to find out about the (many!) locations participating in it.
PS: While the event is officially only on Sunday, the Espacio Pinta Malasaรฑa is offering a few related activities on Saturday as well, so make sure you check out their website for more information.
Pinta Malasaรฑa 2023. All around Malasaรฑa, special events at Condeduque Cultural Center and Espacio Pinta Malasaรฑa. Sunday, May 7. All day. Free.
2. Museum of Dreamers: Another One For Instagrammers
Move over Balloon Museum, youโre so last month! Havenโt you heard? Itโs all about the Museum of Dreamers now. What is it, you ask? Well, itโs one of those things you pay to go in and take a few cool looking selfies, post them on Instagram and get millions** of likes from your followers. (Hey, not that weโre judging. Weโre no strangers to posting thirst traps and other embarrassing content in order to see our follower count go up. But we digress.)
The Museum of Dreamers has 16 โimmersive installationsโ that you can visit with your friends to take some great photos that will look just like everyone elseโs. There are swings, long dinner tables and upside down rooms. So if you think posting about street art is too pedestrian, buy your tickets and go stand in line while practicing selfies and wearing your expensive clothes. Enjoy.
Museum of Dreamers. Espacio Ibercaja. Cl. del Parroco Eusebio Cuenca, 63. Madrid. May 6 to July 30. Check website for opening hours and ticket prices.
** You will definitely not get millions of likes unless youโre, like, Kim Kardashian.
3. Madridโs International Documentary Film Festival is Back
The International Documentary Film Festival of Madrid is back for its 20th year showcasing the best feature and short documentary films โfrom all over the world, focusing on contemporary films and placing special emphasis on new aesthetic approach.โ
There will be three major competitive sections: International competition, National Competition and Final Cut, with each section awarding two prizes, the Jury Prize for the Best Film and the Special Jury Prize. Check the eventโs website for additional information such as the program and other special activities that included exhibits and musical performances.
Documenta Madrid 2023, Cineteca, Pl. de Legazpi, 8. May 3-7. Check official website for schedules and ticket prices.
4. Get a Sample of French DJ Fakearโs Electronic Music
French DJ and electronic music producer Fakear (nรฉe Thรฉo Le Vigoureux) is back in Madrid to present his fifth (and latest) album Talisman. Heavily influenced by East Asian sounds and fully embracing his ecologist convictions, the musician goes back to his roots in the early 2010s after a two-year absence. French media calls his music โorganicโ and โclose to the elementsโ and praises his decision to combine it with the powerful voice of French environmental activist Camille Etienne.
Fakear. Sala El Sol, Calle de los Jardines 3, Madrid. May 5, 9 p.m. Tickets start at โฌ20.50
5. Eat Something Fresh at the Mercado de Productores Planetario
This popular fresh produce market offers high quality products from growersโ farm straight to your table the first and third Sunday of every month. All fruit and vegetables sold have been grown in nearby locations, which reduces energetic consumption, respects the environment and supports the farming sector. So if you want to eat healthy while buying local, this is a great option for you. It also looks great on your Instagram stories. (Probably better than the Museum of Dreamers, anyway.)
Mercado de Productores Planetario. Av del Planetario, 16, Parque Tierno Galvรกn, Madrid. Sunday, May 7, 10 a.m. Free admission (just remember to bring a bag).
๐จ๐ปโ๐ป Other Headlines of the Week
These are some of the most ridiculous or viral stories in Spain this week that didnโt make our Thursday edition but we felt deserved a (dis)honorable mention today.
๐ฉโ๐ณ They probably spit in the soup too
We all suspect that waiters and cooks secretly hate us just a little when we ask for special orders, but weโre never quite sure, right? Well, a group visiting a Valencia restaurant recently learned what the eatery staff really thought of them after one member ordered off menu.
The diner, who was vegetarian, asked the waiter to separate out meat from the dishes, which involved bringing the torreznos that formed part of an appetizer on a separate plate. They commented that the dish, a โฌ15 plate, didnโt include the truffles listed on the menu. Letโs say the vibe wasnโt great. Then the vegetarian asked for a spaghetti dish with cheese and mushrooms, but there was none that day so the waiter delivered spaghetti with plain tomato sauce but tried to charge the original price. The group complained. The mood darkened.
The meal hit its climax when the bill arrived, with an added special order commentary included under the spaghetti order: โsin carnes para la rompe bolasโโwithout meat for the ball-buster.
Voila!
(Twitter and Substack are fighting because Elon Musk, so we canโt embed actual tweets right now. To see the thread including the dinerโs negative review on Instagram, and the bill, click here.)
๐คด Uneasy is the head that wears a crown
The gala dinner the royals gave Colombian President Gustavo Petro was always destined to be tense. Petro has not been shy about his feelings towards Spain and its history of colonization so we were all really interested in watching the dynamics at play during such a special gathering.
And it was as awkward as we expected.
First, Petro decided to break protocol and refused to wear a tux during dinner with King Felipe VI, arguing that itโs a symbol โassociated with the elites and anti-democracyโ.
To be honest, we donโt care. Itโs 2023, there are worse things to be horrified about.
Then thereโs the brief awkwardness displayed by both Colombian First Lady Verรณnica Alcocer and King Felipe VI while listening to the Colombian national anthem and making it look like neither of them wanted to be here. To be fair, itโs just a seven-second clip and should be nothing but anecdotal, but that didnโt stop it from going viral on Twitter.
And yet, if thereโs one thing we think should definitely go viral is Alcocer breaking into dancing outside the Colombian embassy in Madrid earlier this week.
First of all, sheโs got some great moves. And second (since youโre probably asking), the First Lady is seen dancing mapalรฉ, an Afro-Colombian style of dance.
Letโs focus on the positive, people.
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Weโll be back next week with more.