Tapapiés defines itself as a Ruta Multicultural de la Tapa y la Música en Lavapiés(en). Tapa is, of course, the Spanish gastronomic insight into the science of appetizers: a small, free of charge (that's important) aperitif from the local cuisine to accompany, in fact, literally, to cover your drink (it's easier to chase a fly sitting on food than one struggling in the liquid). Lavapiès is a popular neighbourhood of Madrid, formerly the Jewish quarter, where, so goes the hypothesis, people were washing their feet before entering the synagogue (lava piès means wash feet). Madrid has always been very dirty and was reputedly so even in a time where all cities were open rubbish bins. To this day, Lavapiès remained a cosmopolitan, modest if not outcast, but more than anything else, culturally bustling area. It's the place where to unleash street artists in Madrid.
Good things must come to an end, because part of the good thing is the nostalgia—or if born with a greater panel of sensibilities, the saudade—that one must live off it.
As the year is ending, with it the Christmas lights will gradually switch off and be removed from the streets, leaving only the cold as the main clue of winter in a city where it doesn't snow. We have been taking some pictures the whole month, and as the last day is imminent, it is time for their showcase.
Julia passed her ultimate exam before birth this morning in La Paz, the fairy tale hospital by the gigantic towers. This was to monitor her heartbeat (Cardiotocography, what they call here "monitores") and everything seems to progress according to plan.
This is a high-resolution panorama of the heart of the Plaza Mayor, hosting two live shows this Thursday 27 of December at half past noon, for the apparent greater delight of the public. (You can click for a full view and peruse who's down there.)
Madrid by the nights of December, which you'd imagine are crowded and noisy, are actually desolated and chary. The Christmas light dies early. The singing people do similarly. The cold night is abandoned to derelicts as the only memories that it once was joyful in the most festive city in the world.
The services of the train company in Spain, the Renfe, are deteriorating quickly at the same time as their fares keep defying common sense and decency. I already wrote on their hideous practice of blocking doors in hours of affluence causing dangerous jamming of people. Lately, it becomes usual to having to wait quarter of an hour in time of affluence. Tonight it even became impossible to go back to Madrid (we have Tizón with us and can't take the bus).
While we are expecting our own nativity scene for less than in a month's time—maybe even for Christmas—the traditional representation of the birth of Jesus arrived to the Plaza Mayor. This year, due to the works on the Casa de la Carnicería where it is usually situated, it got a much better privileged position: at center of the square. These are some pictures and the starting-up of one of our own tradition to go with it.
Les Pompettes are the best group of Swing in Madrid. You can hear a sample of their performance (mostly original compositions) here, here or here.
We invited them to make a gig in Mayorcita, which they accepted. Live music on the roofs of the Plaza Mayor is a once in a lifetime experience. To top it all, they performed an original work, "Moneda". The video clip will take some time to emerge (update: you can now see it here), but we can show you some photos of this outstanding event.
We visited the Real Jardín Botánico, which, in Autumn, is not much of an attraction. Therefore, we also went to see what the Palacio de Comunicaciones is up to, as we knew it assumed a different role than its former postal function. It is indeed now known as the Palacio de Cibeles and hosts the centrocentro cultural complex.
We are trying to complete a couple of projects we have with timelapsing the Plaza Mayor before we leave Mayorcita, which, with our baby coming in January next year, leaves us little time. Three months counting large. The ten we leaved so far have flown by like the golondrinas and murciélagos that circle round the Plaza, over and behind, respectively.
The sky of Madrid is stunning every single day of the week. Many of its sunsets are captivating. Sometimes, however, when the clouds are just right, like cotton to bet set on fire, they offer a spectacle of unique proportion. Tonight was one of these.
Today our daily stroll brought us to el Retiro. Most of the times we go, we pass by el Angel caído. Tizón decided to make his own interpretation of Bellver's masterpiece.
High-dynamic-range imaging is a photographic technique to capture a greater dynamic range of luminosity. In the hands of the non-expert, it usually provides flashy, unnatural and possibly disagreeable results. These are some shots I took during coffee this morning, with a painting effect that gives it the surreal touch.
Of the various traditional markets in Madrid, our favourite is the Mercado de la Cebada. Another one which also enjoys a high popularity from gourmets and those who value quality over comfort is the Mercado de Anton Martin in the Barrio de Lavapiès.
The former is roughly one third of one of the longest side (the south one). It is the part that bears the frescoes. The other is technically all that remains, although some limit it to the 1/3 matching the Panederia.
This little bit is currently under repair. When I looked up in a break when are the works scheduled to complete, I broke myself by discovering what it was planned to become.
Of all the concerts of classical music that can be played in open air, no piece is more suitable than the pagan Carmina Burana to perform in the Plaza Mayor of Madrid.
For some pretexts which I have already forgotten (one having to do with the end of Summer, the other with something more ludicrous), Madrid's city hall nevertheless graced its most precious square with a free concert of classical music, performed by the Orquesta y Coro de RTVE under the direction of Juanjo Mena.
We'll spend most of it in the United States, though, one week in the ICPS conference (in Austin, Texas) where it probably is hotter still. Then another week of holidays in the Chicago area.
Se va Guillermo Guirales (mañana), que nos ha acompañado durante seis meses en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, trabajando (principalmente) en la elaboración de un código de integración de la ecuación de Gross-Pitaevskii para polaritones.
Madrid Río is a pedestrian area longing the Manzanares in Madrid combining sportive and leisure areas with modern architecture (mainly as far as bridges and paths are concerned). It is a great addition to Madrid since the area used to iconic of its desolation [1] and mark, by way of highways, the frontier with the poorer neighborhoods. Now, it is a fantastic and modern park which could almost compete with el Retiro.
We went to see one of our favorite opera, les contes d’Hoffmann at the Teatro Real, own production in collaboration with the opera from Stuttgart. This was on 3June (2014) (a Tuesday), a day where two lazy students decided to complain about not passing with horrible marks and zero understanding of the topic. The delay occasioned by their theater bringing in succession a plea, then bargaining, then menaces, then insults and finally literally crying, almost made us late for the opera.
Of all the gastronomic arts, cocktails are among the easiest to approach for the amateur chef. It's easy to make decent mixed drinks: use good products in exact proportions, and mix. Whenever this involves fruit juice, it's as simple as using fresh fruits. And inspired by the waiters of our Cafetería de Ciencias, we've got just what is needed. Plus good company, but even better, outstanding views, and this can make for a comfortable evening.
The Museo de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando is the top gallery of Madrid on the important-vs-famous scale. Here you can enjoy some major works in an essentially empty museum. With Goya as one of the directors and Picasso, Dalí and Botero as some of the alumni, the Academia is a testimony of Madrid's weight in the history of the fine arts. It has the most important Goya collection after el Prado.
The holy week is a big business in Spain. Not so much in Madrid, comparatively, but since it is the capital, it still offers orders of magnitude more than one has time to go through. We had the tiniest interaction with the Semana Santa, and as these recollections will show, this was already too much even for a blog post.
El Conde Duque is a cultural center in Madrid set in a former military complex (what a nice reform). It has a Churrigueresque door and offers free art expositions.
The market of la Cebada is a popular covered market of Madrid, in the Barrio de la Latina. This is where we usually make our "shopping" due to the quality, atmosphere and, ultimately, even good prices.
Flamenco being the most picturesque, emblematic as well as truly beautiful cultural perspective on Spain, we put the Tablao Flamenco high in our agenda.
We went back there again. Madrid was still here. We paid more attention this time, we discovered the Plaza de España, el arbol de Navidad of Sol, the Opera, San Ginés. I realized just how absurdly perched is the Edificio de Correos. The mountains were in the fog. The sun seemed to be on the roof in front.
We feel like we won the lottery, with an anxiety mixed with joy and disbelief in our sheer luck. The anxiety is the agony that strangles you when something is too good to be true, that it might not be true, after all, or that something bad could happen, will happen, must happen, that they won't accept the winning ticket and that the fortune will escape us.
