🦈 What's on in Madrid: August 29
Jaws turns 50, the Hogwarts Express arrives, the Thyssen opens at night, and more.
Madrid | Issue #113
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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend
It’s Friday again!
Madrid may be counting down the final days of summer, but the city is anything but sleepy.
This week, you can hop on the Hogwarts Express at the Museo del Ferrocarril, dive into queer activism of the ’90s at La Neomudéjar, or celebrate Jaws turning 50.
Madrid is in other words giving us plenty of reasons to ignore the looming “back to school” mood and squeeze the most out of summer’s final stretch.
Happy weekend. 😎
1.🦈 Classics under the stars: Jaws 50th Anniversary
Few films have changed cinema (and summer beach holidays) quite like Steven Spielberg’s Jaws. Released in 1975, the story of a seaside town terrorized by a great white shark not only created the modern blockbuster but also cemented Spielberg’s reputation as Hollywood’s new golden boy.
Now, Jaws is turning 50, and Universal Studios is marking the occasion with special screenings around the world, including a few right here in Madrid.
As part of the Ciclo de Cine El País, Cibeles de Cine will host a special session combining the film with a talk by Gregorio Belinchón, culture writer at El País, who will put the movie in context before the screening.
Expect insights into how Jaws blended horror, social critique, and mythic obsession (Moby Dick, anyone?) into a film that remains as gripping on a first viewing as it is on your fiftieth.
Because this is Cibeles de Cine, every film is enjoyed through wireless headphones, ensuring immersive, crystal-clear sound as you sit under the stars in the stunning courtyard of the Palacio de Cibeles.
🖥️ What: Cibeles de Cine presents Jaws - 50th Anniversary
📍 Where: Palacio de Cibeles, Plaza de Cibeles 1, Madrid
📅 When: Aug. 29, 10 p.m.
🎟 Tickets: €7
2.🧙🏻♂️ Kids Adults who love the Harry Potter universe can go “back to school” this weekend via the Hogwarts Express
Attention, witches, wizards, and Muggles of Madrid (you know who you are, don’t deny it): the Museo del Ferrocarril is transforming into a gateway to the wizarding world for two magical days!
Fans of the Harry Potter saga can step into an immersive experience that re-creates the journey to Hogwarts, complete with themed spaces perfect for
Instagramnormal, personal photos that you’re absolutely not taking so you can brag online about it.The highlight comes on Monday morning when the countdown begins for the symbolic departure of the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9¾. This is pretty much the same thing people do at London’s King’s Cross station each year, except if you do it in Madrid, you don’t need to put up with an annoying Ryanair flight all the way to the UK. (Spare us the lecture about J.K. Rowling, this is not what this event is about.)
Almost 25 years after the first film premiered, the annual back-to-Hogwarts celebration has become a global tradition, bringing fans together to mark the start of a “new school year” in the most nerdy yet lovable way possible.
To make this weekend even more Potter-y, cinemas across Madrid will be re-releasing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on both days, in honor of the film’s 20th anniversary.
🖥️ What: Back to Hogwarts Immersive Fan Event
📍 Where: Museo del Ferrocarril, Paseo de las Delicias, 61, Madrid
📅 When: Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 (countdown on Monday at 11 a.m.)
🎟 Tickets: Free but limited, so go to the website and get them, like, now.
3.🏛️ Thyssen Museum hosts Patricia Donn and temporary exhibits at night
Harry Potter not your thing? Never mind, there are some other cool options for you.
As part of the 2025 cultural program Refúgiate en la cultura, the Museo Thyssen is hosting a free flamenco performance featuring rising star Patricia Donn alongside guitarist Israel Cerreduela.
Born in Granollers in 1997, Donn trained not only in flamenco but also in classical, contemporary, and Spanish dance under masters such as Eva Yerbabuena, Antonio Canales, and Farruquito. She is joined by Madrid-born guitarist Israel Cerreduela. Together, they promise a night of fantastic artistry and raw flamenco emotion.
Adding to the experience, the museum also opens its doors for Las Noches Thyssen, a program that allows visitors to enjoy its temporary exhibitions for free every Saturday night from 9-11 p.m.
🖥️ What: Patricia Donn at the Thyssen Museum
📍 Where: Thyssen Museum, Paseo del Prado 8, Madrid
📅 When: Aug. 29, 3 p.m.
🎟 Tickets: Free admission
4.📸 Contra-archivo Marica: Queer resistance in 1990s Madrid
It was hidden for nearly three decades, but this radical archive has resurfaced at La Neomudéjar Museum.
The exhibition Contra-Archivo Marica, curated by photographer Lucía Simón Montenegro, presents never-before-seen photographs by Nacho Goytre that capture the intensity and defiance of queer activism in Madrid during the 1990s.
Shot in 1996 from the rooftop of a Lavapiés apartment, the images feature activists Mario Caballero and Fran Palacio in a striking visual performance marked by body paint, socialist symbols, and unapologetic visibility.
More than just art, the photos were an act of insurgency, a challenge both to mainstream society and to the exclusion of queer identities within the left-wing movements of the time.
Only a handful of these images were ever published, appearing in the fanzine El sexo de un anarquista alongside texts by Ricardo Llamas and Paco Vidarte of the La Radical Gai collective. Now, the full archive is on display, reclaiming its place as both a political statement and a living act of memory.
🖥️ What: Contra-Archivo Marica: Photography exhibit by Nacho Goytre
📍 Where: La Neomudéjar, Calle de Antonio Nebrija, s/n, Madrid
📅 When: Through Sept. 7. Check website for opening hours.
🎟 Tickets: €8
5.🎤 Barrence Whitfield Brings Soul Power to Sala El Sol
This city is about to get a dose of raw, unfiltered soul when Barrence Whitfield, one of the last great shouters of American R&B, takes the stage at Sala El Sol tonight.
Known for his explosive vocals and stage presence, this Florida-born singer has been killing it on stage worldwide for over 40 years, both as a solo artist and as frontman of Barrence Whitfield & the Savages.
This time, Whitfield teams up with MFC Chicken, the London-based frat rock and roll outfit led by saxophonist Spencer Evoy. The two have a long history of collaboration—Evoy even played baritone sax on Whitfield’s latest LP Glory and joined him on tour in Spain and the U.S.
Together, they’ll revisit the early days of Barrence’s career with The Savages, mixing cool rhythm and blues energy with sax lines and rock-and-roll swagger.
Get ready. Whitfield’s voice remains as fierce as ever and it will certainly turn this gig into a full-blown soul revival.
🖥️ What: Barrence Whitfield in Concert
📍 Where: Sala El Sol, Calle de los Jardines, 3, Madrid
📅 When: Aug. 29, 9:00 p.m.
🎟 Tickets: €18 (online) and €22 (on site)
📺 What to watch if you’re staying in this weekend…
🖥️ What: Honeymoon with My Mother | Movie | 2022
📍Where to watch: Netflix
❓What’s it about: Honeymoon With My Mother (Amor de madre) takes the rom-com formula and turns it on its head: what if the groom that’s been dumped at the altar ends up spending his honeymoon not with the bride, but with his overbearing mother?
🤩 Why you should watch: Because it stars Quim Gutiérrez (🔥) as the groom and the fantastic Carmen Machi as the mother who seizes the all-expenses-paid trip to Africa as her chance for adventure. The film leans into culture-clash comedy and ends up being a surprisingly warm exploration of family bonds.
💬 English subtitles: Yes.
🤤 Something to try this weekend…
☕️ Tambo Coffee: Tiny perfection
On a quiet street in Madrid’s Salamanca district sits Tambo Coffee, a café so small you might miss it if not for the aroma of coffee that spills onto the sidewalk.
Inside, a couple runs the place with the kind of intimacy that makes regulars feel like family, their dog often padding around as if part of the staff.
The coffee here is reason enough to stop in. It’s rich and carefully pulled. But it’s the sweets, baked daily in the back of the café, that turn a quick caffeine run into what may become your daily ritual: pastries, cakes… whatever happens to be fresh that morning, arrive at the counter with a simplicity that feels rare in a city overrun with chain cafés.
For those who live nearby, passing Tambo Coffee is both a blessing and a curse: you promise yourself you’ll just walk by, but the smell of coffee and butter has other plans.
📍 C. del Gral. Oráa, 29, Madrid.
🥘 Corrientes 348: If you want to try your typical neighborhood Spanish bar, this is your chance
Every Madrid neighborhood has its bar, the kind of place where the tables wobble slightly, the light is more fluorescent than flattering, and the welcome is unreserved. In Chamberí, one such spot is Corrientes 348, a family-run bar that has quietly become a local institution.
Friends of The Bubble first stumbled in years ago, when a newly bought bottle of wine left them stranded without an opener. They asked to borrow one from the bar. Instead of shrugging, the staff laughed, obliged, and made them feel like regulars. Soon it became a ritual: whenever a cork needed pulling, they’d stop by Corrientes.
The generosity here extends well beyond corkscrews. With every glass of Mahou comes a parade of tapas that borders on lavish: croquetas with just the right crunch, slices of jamón, paella, and perhaps a little ensaladilla. When you think the plates are finished, another appears.
There are more polished addresses in Madrid, of course. But few match the easy warmth of Corrientes 348. It is the kind of bar that makes you linger longer than planned. (Oh, and the name? It’s an address on Buenos Aires’s version of Broadway, made famous in the 1925 song “A media luz” sung by tango giant Carlos Gardel.)
📍 Calle de Vallehermoso, 50, Chamberí, Madrid
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