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🌟 The Tapa Weekend: November 24

A Christmas market, an independent movie festival and a fun play about Vox.

Photo by Alvaro Araoz on Unsplash

By @IanMount and @AdrianBono | November 24, 2023 | Madrid | Issue #31

🎉 Welcome to a new issue of The Tapa: Weekend Edition! An English-language newsletter about what to do this weekend in Madrid (plus memes!)

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

It’s Friday again!

And believe it or not, Madrid’s Christmas lights are already shining high and bright. Mariah Carey is once again torturing delighting us with All I Want for Christmas is You (although some of you may prefer a more local song, like Los Peces en el Río, and that’s OK) and that giant Christmas tree is already adorning the Puerta del Sol.

So, before we start dusting off our Christmas tree, here are five cool things for you to do this weekend.

1. The Plaza Mayor Christmas Market and Lights

On Thursday evening, crowds gathered at the Puerta del Sol to attend the traditional Christmas lights ceremony and, as you can see, the city streets look very different today.

And nothing is more traditional than the Plaza Mayor’s beautiful Christmas market, where you can buy Christmas trees and lights as well as figurines (goats and baby Jesuses!) for your nativity scene, candles, flowers and centerpieces. Believe it or not, the market has been around since the 19th century, when people would go buy turkeys and turrones.

  • The traditional red stalls are now an unmissable part of Plaza Mayor during the holiday season and have become a must-visit every Christmas. The event is organized by the "Association of the Christmas Market at Plaza Mayor," who every year, and over many generations, have been keeping this tradition alive.

If you go in the evening, head over to Gran Vía to look at the new “winter wonderland” decor. Perfection.

Mercado Navideño de Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor, Madrid. Nov. 25 through Dec. 31. 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. (10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays). Free admission.

2. CAÑAS by Cañitas Maite: A Michelin Star Foodtruck

Have you seen The Bear? If not, you should (because it’s pretty good). And what Javier Sanz and Juan Sahuquillo have done to a family restaurant in Albacete is kind of a similar story, as these two young friends managed to put their small town on the map via award winning culinary options (including a Michelin star for OBA, one of their restaurants, see video above).

  • This year, the two chefs bring the flavor to Madrid via CAĂ‘A by Cañitas Maite, a food truck that will be parked until Jan. 7 at the Christmas market in Nuevos Ministerios, near El Corte InglĂ©s on the Paseo de la Castellana.

The menu offers street food from burgers the their award-winning croquetas and anything else in between. Make sure you try at least one croqueta, as it was voted best croqueta in the world during the Madrid Fusión contest in 2021. Don’t worry, you can always diet in January.

CAÑAS by Cañitas Maite. El Corte Inglés Christmas Market, Raimundo Fernández Villaverde, 79, Madrid. Through Jan. 7. 12 p.m. to 11 p.m.

3. Blue Africa: Historias TejĂ­das en Indigo

There’s a cool exhibit at the National Museum of Anthropology that you definitely shouldn’t miss. In Blue Africa, the focus is on a traditional dyeing technique used in several countries in West Africa that utilizes indigo, a blue substance that creates some spectacular color.

  • The museum is then filled with magnificent fabrics that display “all the different shades of indigo blue, all crafted in workshops from seven different countries: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Cameroon”.

If fashion is your thing, there are also 'prêt-à-porter' designs by Maica de la Carrera as well as other works by various Senegalese and Spanish artists all inspired by indigo fabrics. But it’s not only fabrics that you’ll see here. There also audiovisual projections and other objects—such as headpieces for you to marvel at.

Africa Azul: Historias Tejidas en Indigo. National Anthropology Museum. Alfonso XII, 68, Madrid. Through Jan. 14. Free admission.

4.Márgenes International Film Festival 2023

The Márgenes International Film Festival is back for its 13th edition to showcase cinema and visual arts that are created with artistic conviction and creative freedom, and with a special focus on contemporary trends.

  • The annual festival presents a broad selection of films that combine young talent with the work of established filmmakers, and purs a special focus on the originality of the works and the personal vision of their creators. There will be roundtable discussions, workshops and meet & greets with the audiences.

American filmmaker Sharon Lockhart will be present at the festival, which will feature a retrospective on his career. Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (aka “Los Javis”), creators of hit Spanish shows such as Veneno and La Mesías, will also be present to accept the Márgenes Futura Award.

  • Screenings take place in three different locations (La Casa Encendida, la Cineteca del Matadero and the Embajadores cinema) so make sure to check their website for schedules and locations.

Márgenes International Film Festival. Multiple locations around Madrid. Check official website for schedules and locations. Tickets start at €3.

5. A Fun, Political Play: Infiltrado en Vox

The premise of Infiltrado en Vox is simple: What if a black, muslim, left-wing activist decided to infiltrate the upper echelons of far-right party Vox in order to bring it down?

  • That is the plot of this comedy created by activist and journalist Moha Gerehou, which thanks to the wonders of deep fake technology gets to have fictional conversations with party leaders like Santiago Abascal, Rocio Monasterio and Ignacio Garriga. The play, which can be very funny at moments, is also an essay on the importance of antiracism (and racism in Spain) that leaves you thinking long after the stage lights have gone out.

Perhaps needless to say, it requires you to have some good understanding of the local political and media scene, as many of the names and jokes mentioned have to do with Spain’s recent political history. If you’re a wonk, go see it.

Infiltrado en Vox. Teatro del Barrio, Zurita 20, Madrid. Nov. 25, 10:15 p.m. Tickets: €15.

👨🏻‍💻 Viral Stories of the Week

🤬 Somebody hates shopping!

You ever walked into a Bershka store in Burgos and found they don’t have the size or color you want? You would probably be unhappy. But no, not as unhappy as this woman. “Bershka is giving away everything,” she screamed, knocking down clothing stands. “I’m going all the way!”

🫢 Brain fart!

Economy Minister Nadia Calviño took her oath for her next term in Pedro Sánchez’s cabinet. Which all went just fine and she said the right words and great. And then she turned around and was like, “OH MY GOD WHERE AM I AND WHO THE HELL ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE!” Which is weird because she’s worked with most of them for years. But that’s fine, because she’s expecting/hoping to become the president of the European Investment Bank early next year, which means she’d be moving to EIB headquarters in Luxembourg anyway.

đź”” A Message From Our Sponsor

Secret Kingdoms is your English bookstore in Madrid. It specializes in Spanish history and literature, contemporary and classic novels, books for children and young adults of all ages, history and historical fiction, thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, poetry, biographies and much more.

  • Located on Calle de MoratĂ­n 7 — a few blocks away from the Prado Museum — and with over 20,000 new and used books, Secret Kingdoms has something for everyone.

Find out more at www.thesecretkingdoms.com

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