🍷 The Tapa Weekend: November 15
Pillars of the Earth in musical version, an LGBT film festival and the return of the Meninas.
By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | November 15, 2024 | Madrid | Issue #75
🎉 Welcome to a new issue of The Tapa: Weekend Edition! An English-language newsletter about what to do this weekend in Madrid (plus memes!)
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
It’s Friday again!
And while we’re counting the days until the Madrid Christmas lights, here are a few options for you this weekend. (Also, can you believe Christmas is five weeks away?)
Enjoy!
1. 🎼 The Pillars of the Earth: The Musical
Long before people fell in love with A Game of Thrones, another book about knights and other Gothic stuff took the world by storm. The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, was a literary phenomenon that won awards, sold 26 million copies and achieved global popularity thanks to its complex storytelling and historical context.
There was even a miniseries and a game about it! So we guess that, when you’ve exhausted all other creative possibilities, the next logical step is the musical adaptation.
Since this novel is a favorite in Spain, The Pillars of the Earth: The Musical is now opening in Madrid with 27 performers on stage, including well-known actors such as Teresa Ferrer, Cristina Picos, Javier Ariano, and Alex Forriols.
Its unique immersive setup is enhanced by AI, creating an expansive medieval atmosphere in the fictional town of Kingsbridge. Composer Iván Macías, known for The Physician musical, collaborated with playwright Félix Amador on this production.
And…Global Glasses has introduced augmented reality glasses for real-time translation, initially available in English and Chinese, with more languages coming soon.
These glasses ensure accessibility for those who don’t speak Spanish, providing an uninterrupted experience even during long performances.
The Pillars of the Earth: The Musical. Teatro EDP Gran Vía, Gran Vía 66, Madrid. Through Feb. 2. Check website for show times. Tickets start at €18,40.
2.🎥 LesGaiCineMad 2024: An LGBTIAQ+ Film Festival
Madrid is hosting the 29th edition of LesGaiCineMad, the leading LGTBIQA+ film festival in Spain, featuring a diverse selection of films focused on affective diversity, continuing the festival’s legacy of promoting inclusion and representation.
The poster for the 2024 edition (see above) features iconic actress Itziar Castro (who passed away last year), paying tribute to her impactful roles in portraying lesbian women on screen. Her presence on the poster this year underscores her important contribution to LGTBIQA+ cinema and representation.
LesGaiCineMad has become an essential platform for showcasing Spanish and Latin American LGTBIQA+ productions to a global audience. By discovering, subtitling, and premiering films, the festival connects Spanish-language LGTBIQA+ cinema with international distributors, buyers, and festival organizers.
The festival features competitive categories for feature films, shorts, and documentaries. Audiences vote on their favorite films, and since 2003, Jury Awards have also recognized films based on cultural, aesthetic, or social contributions.
If you’re into film festivals, do not miss this one.
LesGaiCineMad 2024. Through Nov. 24. Multiple locations around Madrid. Check website for additional information. Tickets: €4
3.🎨 Meninas Madrid Gallery 2024
The Meninas are back! (Has it really been a year already?)
Velázquez’s iconic ladies return to the streets of Madrid this week for the seventh edition of the Meninas Madrid Gallery, an initiative that brings around 30 statues, each 1.8 meters tall, to public spaces across the city, featuring designs by notable figures in music, entertainment, fashion, gastronomy, sports, and social media.
These great interpretations of Las Meninas, the famous ladies-in-waiting from Velázquez’s legendary painting of that same name, create a unique open-air art display throughout Madrid. As with previous editions, the Meninas will be auctioned after the exhibition, either in-person or online, unless directly awarded to sponsors or donated to institutions. 80% of the proceeds will go to charitable foundations and associations chosen by the organizers.
The 2024 edition includes contributions from: Hombres G, singers Chenoa and Karina, journalist Susanna Griso, chef Cristina Oria, and businesswoman Paloma Cuevas. Young artists from Gaudem School, seniors from the Acuario Senior Center in Barajas, and students from Francisco de Vitoria University also participate through projects that blend tradition and modernity, showcasing diverse artistic and generational perspectives.
The 30 statues will be displayed across the Centro, Chamartín, Chamberí, Moncloa-Aravaca, and Salamanca districts. You can check the website below for their exact locations.
The best part is they are very Instagram-friendly, so go take a photo with them!
Meninas Madrid Gallery 2024. Multiple locations around Madrid. Check website for additional details. Through Dec. 15. Free admission.
4.🦸🏻♂️ Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes Exhibit
Are you suffering from superhero fatigue? Do you roll your eyes every time you hear about a new MCU show? Well, you’re out of luck because Marvel superheroes are coming to Madrid whether you like it or not.
Universe of Superheroes is an official Marvel exhibition celebrating 85 years of the Marvel Universe, showcasing everything from classic comic illustrations to blockbuster films and more.
This exhibit brings together over 200 original and iconic pieces, many of which are exclusive. The area is divided into immersive and interactive galleries where visitors can dive into the stories of legendary superheroes like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel. Themed sets and life-sized statues of characters like Hulk are on display, along with over 60 artworks, including Spider-Man drawings by Steve Ditko.
The exhibit also features original costumes, including Iron Man’s suit (from the 2008 movie), Scarlet Witch and Vision’s outfits from WandaVision, and Kamala Khan’s attire from Ms. Marvel. Iconic accessories are also showcased, such as Captain America’s shield from Avengers: Endgame, Thor’s hammer from Thor: The Dark World, and Star-Lord’s Walkman from Guardians of the Galaxy.
Oh and if you just want to buy stuff, the exhibition is filled with merchandise and collectibles spanning from the 1960s to the present day. Fun! (If you like superheroes, that is. If not, then no. No fun.)
Marvel: Universe of Super Heroes. IFEMA Madrid, Pavilion 2. Avenida del Partenón 5, Madrid. Through Jan. 12. Check website for opening hours. Tickets: €16,90.
5.📷 Photo Exhibit: ‘Weegee: Autopsy of Showbusiness’
Here’s a highbrow option for those of you scoffing at the idea of attending an exhibit about She-Hulk.
Weegee: Autopsy of Showbusiness is an exhibition showcasing the work of American photographer and photojournalist Arthur H. Fellig, focusing on California’s high society and the social lives of Hollywood’s major stars.
Fellig, who died in 1968 and is better known by his pseudonym Weegee, gained international fame for his gritty black-and-white photographs of New York’s nightlife, crime scenes, and marginalized communities during the 1930s and 1940s. (Fun story: “Weegee” is a phonetic play on “Ouija” and he got stuck with the monicker because he had an “uncanny ability” to arrive at crime scenes within minutes, even before the police.)
His work from his time in Hollywood (1947-1951), which captured California’s elite and film stars, did not receive the same acclaim. This exhibition aims to rectify that, emphasizing the relevance of this later period, which critiques the “society of spectacle” and links back to the themes of his more famous New York work.
Is this cool enough for you? Great. Have fun.
Weegee: Autopsy of Showbusiness. Fundación Mapfre. Paseo de Recoletos, 23. Madrid. Through Jan. 5. Check website for opening hours. Tickets start at €5.
👨🏻💻 Viral Stories of the Week
💶 If that apartment costs €1.15m, then…okay, things are so crazy in Madrid somebody will buy it
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The Huffpost made a big deal about a viral TikTok from a real estate agent showing a €1.15m apartment where the ceilings are so low he can barely stand. And the comments are classic. But we looked at the actual TikTok account of the real estate agency this guy supposedly works for, and he’s nowhere to be seen, so this may well be fake news. But hey, fake news can still be a meme, right?
🕺 And the award for best recent wedding choreography goes to…
🔔 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
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