🏳️‍🌈 The Tapa Weekend: June 30

By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | June 30, 2023 | Madrid | Issue #14

🎉 Welcome to a new issue of The Tapa: Weekend Edition! An English-language newsletter about what to do this weekend in Madrid (plus memes because why the hell not).

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Here are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

Happy Pride Weekend, everyone! It’s that time of the year again, when downtown Madrid turns into a giant rainbow in which straight and queer people meet to celebrate and support the LGBTQ+ community as a whole. And the locals can be very proud of the festivities indeed. Last year, Madrid’s Pride brought together a total of nearly 2 million people, turning it into the biggest Pride event in Europe and one of the most important LGBTQ+ events in the world.

This weekend there’s live music everywhere, workshops and, of course, Saturday’s big event: the Pride Parade. So grab your multicolor bandana and head over to Chueca for some sun, fun and pop music. You won’t regret it.

Here are a few cool, rainbow-themed things to do this weekend.

1. Madrid’s Pride Parade 2023

This is the big one! The march + parade is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, so expect an enormous amount of people gathering all over the Paseo del Prado and Cibeles areas as thousand others march or dance on floats. With this year’s motto of "Embracing Family Diversity: Equal in Rights,” the Madrid Pride will demand equal rights for all families, advocate for the implementation of the recently approved LGBTI+ Law, and call for the urgent creation of a State Pact against Hate Speech.

• Organizers expects an attendance of over 2 million people. It’s going to be very hot so make sure you stay hydrated and wear tons of sunscreen.

Madrid Pride Parade. From Atocha Train Station to Plaza Colón, Madrid. July 1, 7 p.m.. Free admission.

2. Theatrical Guided Nights Tours of the Almudena Cemetery

What better way to celebrate these cool summer nights than walking around the tombstones? (Seriously.)

The Madrid Funerary Services (not a great name, we’ll admit) is offering curious visitors the chance to explore the cultural and artistic heritage preserved within the walls of the Almudena Cemetery—at night. And not only that: the tours through this “open-air museum” with 130 years of history include performers playing some of the personalities buried there. Expect them to pop up from time to time (yikes!) to talk about their lives. So, like, not at all scary.

Nighttime Cemetery Tours. Almudena Cemetery, Avenida de Daroca, 90, Madrid. July 1 to Aug. 31. Tickets start at €1.50.

3. Matías Umpierrez’s Eclipse

Argentine interdisciplinary artist Matías Umpierrez presents a show that combines elements of a lecture, a performance, and a concert, all inspired by stories related to masks, whether they are real or virtual.

An anonymous and masked speaker (along with a doppelgänger) appears on stage to explore the meaning of the word "mask." The work delves into the importance of masks in a world full of technology, rebellions, utopias, capitalist Buddhists, secret societies, and other themes. This is achieved through what Matías has called "trans-scene," in which myths, ghosts, hacktivists, and various figures from a population dominated by screens and archives intertwine. Confused? Don’t be. Just go. Do not miss!

Eclipse. Naves del Español en Matadero. Paseo de la Chopera, 14, Madrid. June 28—July 2. 8 p.m. Tickets: €10.

4. Paulina Rubio at Madrid Pride

If you’re need last-minute cool plans tonight, look no further: Paulina Rubio is here to lighten it up (please don’t tell us you don’t know who she is).

Hailed as a “visionary and a trans-generational artist”, Rubio is expected to drive the crowds crazy in Plaza España with some of her greatest hits, ranging from the beginning of her career in the 80s to her more recent bops. She will be the closing act of the now traditional Mr. Gay Spain competition, in which a bunch of hot guys compete for the much coveted crown. She will also go on stage to accept the honorary Mr. Gay España award. Expect huge (huge!) crowds so try to get there early.

Paulina Rubio. Madrid Pride, Plaza España, Madrid. Friday, June 30. 12:30 a.m. (yes, technically it would be Saturday but you know what we mean). Free admission.

5. Maudes Festival 2023

Get ready for a massive (and outdoors) techno and electronic music event. Maudes Festival is back for its third edition and this year it features artists such as Paul Kalkbrenner, Monolink, Joris Voorn, Chelina Manuhutu, Regal, Karretero and many others, as well as contemporary art exhibits, a street market with tons of food samples, techno “worship” areas and a whole lot more. There will even be an area dedicated to emerging artists.

• It’s a pretty impressive setting (watch the video above) where you get to dance in front of a “retro-futuristic industrial artwork” created by Valencian falleros that celebrates a “thematic fusion of art, commitment, culture and electronic techno music”.

Maudes Festival 2023. Recinto Ferial IFEMA Madrid. June 30—July 1. 6 p.m.. Tickets start at €35.

Bonus: 4th of July Celebration at the American Club in Madrid