Madrid Jazz Festival

Once again jazz musicians from across the globe will be in the city for another edition of Madrid Jazz Festival (2nd November- 4th December). Now in its 28th year, it is considered one of the world's best known festivals of its kind and this year's promises to be another great edition with 27 performances during the month long festival period. With performers coming from a wide range of countries including Cuba, Senegal, Mexico and Poland, there will a diverse mixture of jazz styles on offer which won't disappoint the most avid of fans. The concerts will be held at various locations in the city. You can see the full programme here as well as where to get tickets, however info only in Spanish (even though it describes itself as an "international" festival).

Madrid gets its own walk of fame!

Madrid has now got own walk of fame, just like Hollywood. Known as the Paseo de la fama in Spanish, it will officially open at 7pm today (Monday 27th June) in Calle Martin de los Heros in Argüelles. The names of 25 Spanish cinema stars including Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Antonio Banderas, and Pedro Almodóvar will be honoured with a star shaped plaque after having been chosen by the Spanish Cinema Academy to celebrate its 25th birthday.

DocumentaMadrid International Documentary Film Festival

DocumentaMadrid is an annual international documentary film festival taking place between 6-15th May. There are many screening everyday across various locations in the city. A number of the films will be in English (or French, German, Italian etc...) with Spanish subtitles, so if your Spanish is not so good, there should be something you can understand! Ticket prices are very reasonable and there are usually a few free screenings. We've been in previous years and the quality is very good. Check the programme here (in English).

La Revoltosa- one of the most loved pieces of zarzuela comes to the Teatros del Canal

No visit to Spain would be complete without a visit to the theatre to see some traditional Spanish zarzuela (operetta). Running from 30th April until 8th May at the Teatros del Canal, is La Revoltosa, the story of a beautiful rebellious young women who causes quite a stir in a typical working class barrio of Madrid during the 19th century. Written by Carlos Fernández Shaw and José López Silva, with music by Ruperto Chapí,  it has come to be one of the best loved zarzuelas since it was first perfromed in Barcelona back in 1897.


You can catch the performance at the Sala Verde at the Teatros del Canal 30/4-8/5. Performances Tues-Sat 7pm and 9pm, Sundays 6pm and 8pm. Ticket prices vary between 15€-25€ and can be bought here.

Teatro Madrid offer an interesting programme of dance

The Teatro de Madrid is offering a very eclectic series of dance productions this spring, consisting of everything from African drumming to burlesque. 

FOLKLORIC BALLET OF MADRID (28 April to 1st May)
Cuatro E
Director: Jorge García Ávila

This production unites elements of traditional dance from different Spanish regions including Castilla, Andalucía and Madrid. The four elements of earth, wind, water an fire all feature strongly as we are taken on a journey through Spain. 

DANZA EN ESENCIA (from 30th April until 28th May)
Fridays and Saturdays: 10.30pm

Danza en Esencia (Dance in Essence) is a series of small and intimate concerts which take place in the cafeteria of the theatre, with the idea of bringing together interesting and daring concepts and showing the true essence of the movements to the audience. The performances on on offer are as follows:

Derechos… o Izquierdos? Varied styles by Aúpa Teatro
Saturday 30th April

Derechos… o Izquierdos

Karacter, African dance and percussion by Dikatt
Friday 6th May
El Peso del Alma, Urban dance by El Peso del Alma

Saturday 7th May
Evil, Evil Girrrls and the Malvados, Burlesque. 

Friday 13th May
Chuvisco, el Bandolero Arisco, theatre dance by Mascarpone Teatro
Friday 20th May
De la Noche a la Mañana, Spanish dance by Mónica Iglesias
Saturday 21st May

Ella en Otros, Contemporary dance by Élida Dorta
Viernes 27 de mayo, 22.30 horas
Fenicia en Esencia, Oriental dance by Fenicia Companny of Oriental Dance

Saturday 28th May

All concerts start at 10.30pm. Ticket prices vary, but most are reasonably priced at around 14€. You can buy online here. The theatre is located on Avenida de la Ilustación (near the shopping centre), close to Avenida de la Ilustración and Barrio del Pilar metro stations.

Free theatre tickets!

Want some free theatre tickets? On Tuesday 5th April,  to mark the arrival of spring, the Último Minuto box office on Plaza del Carmen will give away 100 pairs of theatre tickets between 5-8pm. From 5.30 until 6.15pm, the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team will be making an appearance and showing off their skills there to promote a special event in Madrid. Tickets are available for 77 different shows in Madrid across dozens of venues- you can chose the performance you want to see. In the case of the Globetrotters show, there will be 50 free pairs of tickets for the event held on 20th May. Get there quick before they all go!

Spring Exhibitions 2011 at the Reina Sofía

The Reina Sofía Museum has an exciting programme of  temporary exhibitions for this spring and we decided to include their details on here. They are as follows:

Asier Mendizabal Until May 2
Efrén Álvarez. Económicos Until May 30
Dorit Margreiter: Description Until April 25
Atlas. How to carry the world on one’s back? Until March 28, 2011
Jessica Stockholder. Peer Out to See Until May 2, 2011 (Palacio de Cristal, Retiro Park)

Miroslaw Balka. ctrl Until April 25, 2011 (Abadía de Santo Domingo de Silos (Burgos) and Sala de Bóvedas, Museo Reina Sofía)
Jean-Luc Mylayne Until March 27, 2011 (Palacio de Velázquez, Retiro Park)

Coming soon:

Harsh light, without compassion. The Worker-Photography Movement, 1926-1939

Runs April 6 - August 22
Entrance to the exhibitions costs 3€ and covers all temporary exhibits. For more information about the Reina Sofía, here's the museum website

 

Mayca Teba in El Temperamento de Carmen

If you are going to be in Seville next Tuesday, Mayca Teba, a renowned Spanish sorpano will be giving a recital together with pianist Sergio Montero and guitarrist Tino van der Sman at the Iglesia de los Terceros. Teba is an international performer, having performed all over the world and recently with Plácido Domingo in Quatar. She also performs zarzuela around the world as well as in her native Spain. The event is sponsored by EMASESA 1011 Cultural

 

Date: Tuesday 22nd February 2011

Where: Iglesia de los Terceros, Calle Sol s/n in Seville

Time: 8pm, free entry until venue is full

Last chance to see Passion for Renoir at The Prado

This week the Passion for Renoir exhibition at The Prado Museum will be coming to an end. Visitors will have the rare opportunity to see some of his most famous works on show in the Spanish capital, which normally can only been seen at the Clark Institute in Massachusetts. The exhibition has proved so popular that the museum decided to extend its running period.

The exhibtion closes on Sunday 13th February.

Where: The Museo del Prado, Paseo del Prado. Metro Atocha (L1) or Banco de España (L2).

Click here to go to the exhibition website.

XIX Festival Flamenco Caja Madrid 2011.

Starting this Wednesday 2nd February is a 10 day festival of flamenco held the Teatro Circo Price in inconjunction with Caja Madrid. This year is the event's 19th edition and many of the biggest names in contemporary flamenco such as Carmen Linares, Juan Valderrama and Miguel Poveda, will be performing. Hommage will also be paid to the flamenco legend Enrique Morente, who passed away at the end of 2010. The programme for the event can be seen below:

XIX Festival Flamenco Caja Madrid 2011

If you are going to be in Madrid during the period of the festival, we recommend catching a show as it will be a much more authentic experience (and probably much cheaper!) than the tourist shows. Tickets for the big name performances at Teatro Circo Price will cost from 28€ upwards. There will also be some smaller performances as well as talks and recitals about flamenco music taking place at the Casa Encendida, where tickets cost 5€.

La Casa Encendida and El Teatro Circo Price are opposite each other on Ronda de Atocha (numbers 2 and 35 respectively), just a short hop from Atocha station and the Reina Sofía museum. Metro: Embajadores (L3, L5) or Atocha (L1).


Tickets for the flamenco shows at Teatro Price can be bought here 
Programme of the smaller events and workshops at the Casa Encendida here (Spanish only)

Spain's First Ever Vintage Fashion Fair -I Feria de Moda Vintage de Madrid

Taking place this week is Spain's first ever Vintage Fashion Fair- the Feria de Moda Vintage de Madrid. Lovers of vintage fashion will be able to find pieces from some of the country's top designers such as Lotta, Frivolité and L'Arca de la Núva,  who specialise in period costumes and accessories. The event is taking place at ModaShopping, near Nuevos Ministerios from 25th-28th November and is open until 10pm.

Dia de Hispanidad in Madrid

You might not be aware but tomorrow is one of Spain's most important holidays- Día de Hispanidad, which celebrates the discovery of the Americas by Columbus. Every year a massive millitary parade takes place on Paseo de Castellana and celebrations are held in Plaza de Colón. The atmosphere is carnival like and many people from the different latin communities in Madrid take part. Similar events take place in other latin countries. If you are here, it's well worth going to see.

What to do this weekend in Madrid

Here's our pick!

• Catch the last fews days of the Ghirlandaio Exhibition at the Thyssen
• Take a guided tour around some of Madrid's most important buildings as part of Archictecture Week
• Visit La Violeta on Plaza de las Canalejas for some tasty traditonal sweets
• Go see the Tango de Burdel, Salón y Calle ballet at the Teatros del Canal