Free movies and Good Food

 If you like films that don't usually make it to multiplexes, take note: from March 13 to April 10, Cines Embajadores is showing the five finalists for the LUX European Film Audience Award for free.

The menu includes films from Greece, France, Latvia, Ukraine, and Belgium, and themes such as cultural identity, misinformation, work pressure, and the devastation of the planet.

Admission is free: you must register online at this website and then pick up your ticket at the box office 72 hours in advance. Voting for your favorite will enter you into the drawing for a trip to Brussels for the ceremony.

And since spring never seems to arrive, I recommend two traditional Spanish dishes for colder days, because paella isn't everything in Spain. You'll already be familiar with one if you've been on our Rural Spain trip. The other is typical of northern Spain, specifically Asturias.

The Madrid Stew Route celebrates its 15th edition from this Saturday, February 15th, to March 31st, offering 90,000 servings of this iconic dish in 42 restaurants in and around Madrid. Prices range from €14 to €40, with options for vegans and celiacs. Participants can also vote for their favorite stew and win prizes, such as one of the 100 stews raffled off or a prize draw worth €2,000. Find out all the information here (I am sorry, it is only in Spanish) or here.

📍 Location: Madrid and surrounding areas

🗓️ Dates: until March 31st

Until March 23, Madrid hosts the eleventh edition of the Fabada and Verdinas Route, an event that pays tribute to Asturian cuisine. During these dates, several restaurants in the city will offer special menus focused on traditional fabada and verdinas. This event coincides with World Fabada Day, celebrated on March 15. For more details on the participating restaurants and their offerings, you can read the full article in Madrid Secreto.

📍 Location: Various locations.

📅 Dates: Until March 23, 2025

Carnival and Other Ideas for the Weekend

Of course, one of the star cultural activities these days will be the Carnivals, which in Madrid are a bit peculiar (nothing to do with Rio 😉). If you want to read a very brief explanation about their origin you can find it in an old post on our blog: https://exploringwithauspain.blogspot.com/2023/02/carnivals-and-gastronomy.html

This year it will be from March 1 to 5. From Carnival Friday to Ash Wednesday, Madrid surrenders year after year to the party of the game of identities, with parties, parades, musical performances and many more activities. Do you remember that in the previous post I told you about the beautiful Matadero cultural center? Well, that will be where most of the activities will be held. You can find all the information in English here: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/whats-on/carnaval-madrid

I've been told that the Iberian Experience group is going to participate in the Burial of the Sardine! On that website you can see some photos and read about the "burial", but also about the previous days, the parade, the music groups, dance, theatre, magic...

📍 Location: Matadero (and much more). Metro Legazpi, lines 3 and 6.

📅 Dates: March 1-5, 2025.

💸 Price: free entry.

Another option for the weekend is the following: The Vegan Association of Madrid organizes Madrid Vegan Market, a vegan market that this Sunday (from 10:00 to 16:00) returns for its third edition with different stalls that will show food products, cosmetics, gastro area... there will also be talks. We will find the delights of Freedom Cakes, Urban Nomad Cooking, Good Shit Vegan Kebabs, Vegasun and Vegasauria or Pastelería Macchi, among others.

📍 Location: Espacio Rastro, on Calle San Cayetano, 5 (La Latina)

📅 Dates: Sunday March 2, 2025.

💸 Price: free entry.

And if you want to travel nearby: Chinchón, considered one of the most beautiful towns in the Community of Madrid, is celebrating its traditional Medieval Market once again this year. Jugglers, knights, musicians and itinerant artists will fill its streets with life and activities – check out the full programme here –. They will also be joined by craft stalls, traditional cuisine and a children's area for this date with the past.

📍 Location: Various locations in Chinchón

📅 Dates: From February 28 to March 2, 2025

A Market Unlike Any Other

If there is one weekend market that is a must-see in Madrid, it is the Mercado de Motores. Not only because it is the oldest (it has been held almost uninterruptedly since 2012), but also because of the number of designer stalls that can be found, including a space for second-hand clothes and items in the outdoor part of the venue.

In addition, there are food, coffee and drink stalls to replenish your energy. And finally, workshops, free concerts and DJ sessions throughout the weekend. All with the added bonus of doing it in a setting as iconic as the platforms of the Railway Museum, a jewel of Madrid's industrial architecture that is still standing.

Although the museum is open every day in the morning except Wednesdays, the market is only held once a month, usually on the second weekend of the month. This February it will be on the 8th and 9th of February.

Reserve your free tickets in https://mercadodemotores.es/proxima-edicion-mercado-de-motores-madrid-2/

And if you go in costume, you can participate in a contest and win a free drink (read how here):

https://www.eventbrite.es/e/carnaval-disfraces-y-rondas-gratis-en-mercado-de-motores-tickets-1232947963549?aff=oddtdtcreator

Tips for those who are staying in Madrid next weekend

This week some students will travel to Andalusia as part of their program. Others who do not belong to that cohort will probably travel to other places. We wish them both a happy trip!

However, other students will stay in Madrid, and the ideas of this post are for them 💕:

On the first Saturday of every month from 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. you can visit the Museo del Prado for free. On February 1st you can visit the exhibitions: “Shaking hands. Sculpture and color in the Golden Age”, sponsored by the AXA Foundation, and “Sigmar Polke. Revealed affinities”, the painter’s first solo exhibition in Madrid, presented by the Museo del Prado and the Fundación Amigos Museo del Prado, in collaboration with the Madrid City Council. In addition, you can enjoy the exhibition of the Resurrected Christ, the first work by the artist Giulio Clovio in the collections of the Museo del Prado, thanks to the recent donation from American Friends.

Radio 3 will liven up this evening event in the Sala de las Musas with the station's DJs María Taosa, José Manuel Sebastián and Nacho Álvaro El Patillas Dj, highlighting the uniqueness of the proposal. Visitors will be offered the chance to pose in a photocall designed for the occasion by Samsung, and Café Prado and the Museum shop will also be open.

The celebration of the Chinese New Year, which has more than 4,000 years of history, coincides with the beginning of the crop cycle, despite the winter, and welcomes a new season, hence it is also known as the “Spring Festival”. In 2025, the Year of the Wooden Snake is celebrated (which begins on January 29) and as in previous years there is a complete program of activities (Jan 29 to Feb 15) to celebrate it (mainly in Usera, Madrid's Chinatown).

You can find all the activities in https://madridchino.com/distrito-usera-madrid-chino/ (it is only in Spanish and Chinese, but I am sure that you can figure out what it is said).

Also, in https://www.esmadrid.com/en/whats-on/china-taste, we can learn about the Chinese gastronomy for these celebration days:

"Celebrating Chinese New Year, which begins on 29 January 2025, the eighth edition of China Taste will be taking place from 20 January to 16 February. This ground-breaking culinary event promoted by the Chinese Embassy, the China Cultural Centre in Madrid, Madrid City Council and the Regional Government will be celebrating the arrival of the Year of the Snake in 2025. In addition to this culinary celebration, there will be several show cooking sessions at the China stand of the FITUR fair from 22 to 26 January.

To celebrate and promote China’s rich culinary tradition, this festival is being held in conjunction with Chinese restaurants throughout Madrid that are known for their use of high quality ingredients, excellent wine menus and efficient service. They have designed a special menu for the occasion that you can enjoy at all participating restaurants for a month at very reasonable prices.

In the 2025 edition of this event, 30 restaurants throughout Madrid and Mallorca will be delighting diners with Chinese haute cuisine guaranteed to satisfy even the most discerning food lovers. The Dim Sum Market is one of the unmissable venues taking part in this edition, known for its modern and authentic approach, which takes the art of dim sum to another level, combining tradition and creativity in each dish.

Other exceptional restaurants taking part include "Le Chinois", which prepares delicious dishes based around duck; "Soy Kitchen", a restaurant known for its creativity where chef Julio Zhang has created a dish known as Fire Fish especially for the occasion; and the restaurant "Chi-La" specialising in dishes from the province of Hunan, offering flavour and spice in equal measure. They also participate "Asia Té", "Bao Li", "El Buda Feliz 1974", "El Bund", "China Crown", "Chunli", "Cocina Lú", "Gran Café Shaghai", "Indochina Brasa", "Kököchin, Kzen", "Lelong Asian Club" and "Xiaolongkan".

China has a broad culinary culture classified into eight culinary styles or schools  (Sichuan, Shandong, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Hunan and Anhui). China Taste aims to make people more familiar with Chinese cuisine through the participating restaurants.

This culinary festival has also partnered with the Spanish Red Cross, which gives it even greater added value. For each menu, China Taste will make a donation to projects run by the charity organisation."

Have a nice weekend wherever you are!

Eat your way around the city this week

Bravas Fest at the Museo del Ferrocarril -- LINK 

Friday - 6 pm to 12 am

Saturday - 12 pm to 12 am

Sunday - 12 pm to 10 pm

Admission to the festival is free and has limited capacity that will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

The bravas will cost €4 and the other tapas between €5 and €12 , depending on the restaurant. The set menu option (bravas + drink) costs €7.5 if purchased in advance (up to the day before coming) and €8

C. de la Isla de Java, 2, Fuencarral-El Pardo, 28034 Madrid 

The Lavapiés neighborhood celebrates the fourteenth edition of Tapapiés, the Multicultural Tapas and Music Route from 17 to 27 October, in which more than 100 bars and restaurants in the area are participating with diverse culinary proposals to surprise those who come to sample them.

One of the world’s most traditional and international neighborhoods is once more holding the popular tapas route organized by the Lavapiés Traders’ Association and Cerveza El Águila is the sponsor of the fourteenth edition.

With more than 100 bars and restaurants from Lavapiés participating, the program also includes around thirty concerts, batucada bands, street parades, and outdoor children’s entertainment scheduled for weekends at midday and in the evening.

More info at LINK

Ireland Week in Madrid!

 From March 11th to 17th, the capital is blooming with activities on the occasion of Saint Patrick's Day!!!! Some interesting events took place yesterday, what can we do from today?

A group of musicians and dancers from the University College Dublin Dance Society will perform at the Ópera (Tuesday), Callao (Wednesday and Thursday), and Gran Vía (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) stations.

Gastronomy will also be present during Ireland Week to pay tribute to the wide variety of fresh products produced on the Emerald Isle. There will be a free tasting of Irish products at the Peace Market (C/Ayala 28. Metro Serrano and Velázquez, line 4) on March 12 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and on Wednesday the 23th from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Irish literature will have its special day on Thursday at the Desperate Literature bookstore (Calle Campomanes, 13. Metro Ópera, lines 2, 5, and Ramal), where the Irish author Shane Tivenan will read for the audience, who will also be entertained by the Irish music group Triantan.

At the Monumental Theater (c/ Atocha, 65. Metro Antón Martín. Line 1) you can enjoy the 'Saint Patrick's Day', a show that fuses the energy of Irish folk-rock with dance and the sound of the bagpipes. Among the participants, you will find members of the RTVE choir and orchestra, the Luna Celta Dance school, and the musical group The Green Tones.

On Saturday, March 16, Irish culture will come to Las Rozas and a picnic will be held at the Electrocor Football Club (here) accompanied by Irish music. Public will be able to enjoy Gaelic sports with the Madrid Harps GAA Sports Club.

In adition, on Saturday the traditional St. Patrick's parade will take place and there will also be the opportunity to continue enjoying Celtic rhythms in the Fitz Club room (Calle Princesa 1. Metro Plaza de España, lines 3 and 10) at 7 p.m. with a concert by Bras Rodrigo.

          

On Sunday at the Galileo Galilei (Calle Galileo 100, Metro Canal and Islas Filipinas, lines 2 and 7)  with a performance by the Irish Treble dance group. 

A summary of all this information in English here and more details (but in Spanish) here.

Chinese New Year in Madrid!

    

With the arrival of the Chinese New Year, which this year corresponds to the Year of the Dragon (starting on February 10th, 2024), Madrid is filled with activities to celebrate this important date. Among these activities (from February 2nd to 29th) is the Great Parade that will run through the streets of the Usera district on Sunday, February 11th, filling every corner of this popular area with music and color (to learn more about the Chinese community in Madrid read https://www.esmadrid.com/en/chinese-madrid)

You will probably also like the Spring Market, where attendees can buy, taste, and visit stands with crafts and a wide variety of Chinese products. You can also ask for your name in Chinese calligraphy, see exhibitions of traditional painting and many other surprises. Several food trucks will be distributed in the square where the public will be able to find a large selection of typical Chinese cuisine dishes.

All events with their dates and locations are here: https://madridchino.com/distrito-usera-madrid-chino/ (this website is only in Spanish, but can be easily understood with the help of a translator).

A Very Special Movie Theater in Madrid

 If you like going to the movies, you cannot miss a visit to the "Ciné Doré". It is a building built in 1923, with a modernist style, common in cinemas from the beginning of the century and consistent with the architecture that was being carried out at that time in Madrid. It is really beautiful and different from the modern movies theater we are used to!

Calle Santa Isabel 3 - Metro Antón Martín (Line 1)

Tickets cost only 3 euros! You can buy them with a maximum of 72 hours in advance and there is a10-ticket passes for 20 euros. Any of those two options are available here: https://entradasfilmoteca.gob.es/ Several films are shown on the same day, some are current ones and others classic films of all time. You can find works of many nationalities, always in the original version with Spanish subtitles. Also, their cafeteria is very pretty and you can spend a pleasant time there (and you do not need to go to the cinema to enter the cafeteria). And it has an interesting bookstore specialized in cinema as well!

On the other hand, right next to it, you will find the Antón Martín market (one of the many traditional markets in Madrid, much cheaper than San Miguel, which is mainly for tourists). The market is filled with traditional stalls dedicated to the sale of fresh products, as well as small stands offering cuisine from all over the world, be it Japanese, Italian, Mexican, Colombian or Taiwanese.

     

THE SOCIAL HUB

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Some options - all start at 3 euros

- sign language

- pilates

- yoga

- music jam sessions

- Spanish class

- Pop up night of Sicilian Street Food

LINK

TAPA PIES - October 19 through 29

From Thursday the 19th to Sunday the 29th of October, this 13th edition will fill the Lavapiés neighborhood with exquisite tapas and free concerts at street level. There will be around thirty concerts, batucadas, parades and children's outdoor entertainment on the weekends of the 20th to the 22nd and from the 27th to the 29th at 1:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

In 2013 Tapapiés was the first event that introduced free musical and theatrical performances in the heart of Madrid's historic center. This year they are distributed across the Plazas de Ana Diosdado, Arturo Barea, Lavapiés and Nelson Mandela, as well as Argumosa Street on the corner of Doctor Piga. The Tartaro joins the party on Saturdays (5:00 p.m.) in the Plaza de Cascorro.

For only €3, each tapa is served accompanied by a bottle or beer from El Águila. The public votes for their favorite tapas from Enlavapies.com, where they also access complete information on each tapa and establishment. Most offer vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free versions.


DOWNLOAD THE MAP


LINK TO OFFICAL WEBSITE - TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE