Madrid Festivals

Reyes (Three Kings)

Where: all over Madrid
When: 6 Jan
On the evening of 5 January, Noche de Reyes, thousands of children and their parents line up along C/Alcalá to watch the annual cabalgata (parade), which is also televised. Dozens of elaborate floats pass by and the riders hurl sweets to the children. Later, most families have a big dinner, and the following day presents await those who have been good. Those who haven’t get a piece of coal.

ARCO
Where: Juan Carlos I exhibition centre
When: mid Feb
Tel: 91 722 50 00
An international contemporary art fair packed with gallery owners, critics and the general public.

San Isidro

Where: Plaza Mayor, Los Austrias, & all over Madrid
When: 1wk around 15 May
This is the time to see madrileños doing what they do best: taking to the streets and having a rollicking good knees-up. The fiestas celebrate San Isidro, Madrid's patron saint, a humble 12th-century labourer and well-digger to whom all manner of miracles are attributed and whose wife, María de la Cabeza, was also canonised, making them the only sainted couple in history. The fiestas are officially declared open and nightly gigs are held (with the odd classical performance thrown in) at the Plaza Mayor.

There is more music in Las Vistillas park; music, theatre, painting workshops and more are put on for kids in the Retiro. Then there are countless musical events, markets and numerous religious ceremonies. Possibly most fun of all is the traditional romería (pilgrimage) at and around the Ermita de San Isidro, in the park of the same name; families in traditional castizo garb, looking like something out of a Goya painting, drink from wine skins and stuff themselves with traditional madrileño delicacies such as chorizo, morcilla and other offal dishes.

Festimad Sur

Where: Estadio Butarque, Leganés
When: late May
Tel: 91 522 37 87
Despite problems with funding and various other ups and downs in recent years, including changes of venue, Festimad, Madrid’s biggest rock festival, is certainly still alive and kicking. In 2007, at least, a range of Spanish indie bands will perform at the Estadio Butarque in Leganés, along with rock in all its variant forms. There will also be dance music, DJ sessions and a few big names. Recent years have seen artists of the calibre of the Pixies, Korn, Ben Harper, Patti Smith and the (International) Noise Conspiracy. Pearl Jam has been confirmed for 2007.

Festival de Otoño

Where: various venues
When: 4-5wks Oct-Nov
Tel: 91 720 81 94/3
The impressive and always enjoyable ‘Autumn Festival’ offers somewhere in the region of 60-odd theatre, dance and music spectacles and remains one of the city’s major performing arts events. The range throughout the festival is quite wide. Acts as diverse as the Brodsky Quartet, Ballets Trockadero de Monaco, musical groups from Rajasthan, La Comédie Française, Eddie Palmieri and the Spanish Orquesta Nacional de Jazz have all popped up in recent years, with Tartuffe and Romeo and Juliet big theatrical draws in 2006.
Events take place both in the capital and surrounding towns, making a trip out quite tempting. Around ten venues in Madrid itself have shows, among them the Teatros Albéniz and Zarzuela, the Círculo de Bellas Artes and fringe spaces such as Teatro Pradillo and Sala Cuarta Pared.

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