Madrid

🌧️ What's on in Madrid: November 13

Rain. That’s what’s on. Deal with it.

Madrid | Issue #170

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Here Are 5 Things to Do in Madrid This Weekend

Good morning and Happy Friday!

Have you checked your weather app? Great. Then don’t. Because we have at least, like, seven more days of heavy rain, cold winds, and overall depression.

• You have two choices: grab an umbrella and brave the unbearable humidity, or stay home, curl up in bed in your pajamas, watch Netflix, and order ice cream from La Romana (this would all be a huge middle finger to me, since I’ll have spent six hours writing this whole guide for nothing).

Happy long weekend!

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1. 🎭 This fall season, get ready for non-stop drama! (Surprisingly, it’s not about politics)

If this week’s general strike wasn’t dramatic enough for you, I’ve got some fantastic news for your masochistic soul: The Festival de Otoño (Fall Festival) is back*!

• *Full disclosure: it’s actually been back since Nov. 6, but honestly, there were so many other cool events happening last week that I couldn’t find the time to recommend it.

• Anyway, it’s one of Spain’s biggest performing arts festivals, bringing some of the world's most exciting theater and performance art to Madrid, and also it’s going to be raining like crazy these next few days, so who are you kidding? There’s no way in hell you’re picking an outdoor activity.

• The Fall Festival features artists from Europe, Africa, and the Americas doing a lot of talented stuff. And this year, for its 44th edition, it has a distinctly American flavor: to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, the festival is celebrating the influence of U.S. artists on contemporary culture (jazz and blues to rock, pop, hip-hop, groundbreaking choreography, etc.). Sadly, no UFC fights on the Moncloa lawn, which would have been fun (not in a ha-ha way, but fun nonetheless).

• There are some seriously interesting names that you’ve never heard of. American choreographers Faye Driscoll and Trajal Harrell are among the highlights, alongside performers and companies from countries including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, France, and the U.K.

• The festival also pays tribute to a theatrical legend you’ve never heard of (and that’s on you). Its opening production, PESSOA – Since I’ve Been Me, honors Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa through the visionary work of American director Robert Wilson, who transformed theater through his extraordinary use of light, space, and movement.

• What’s that? You do know Fernando Pessoa? I’m impressed. You get a gold star.

• Performances are spread across some of Madrid’s coolest cultural venues, including Teatros del Canal, Conde Duque, and Teatro de La Abadía, and the programming ranges from productions inspired by Latin American literature and contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare, hopefully not played by any of the Kardashians.

Browse the program, pick something that looks intriguing, and give it a shot. Worst-case scenario, you’ll spend the evening pretending you understood a very sophisticated piece of contemporary art, guest-starring one of the Kardashians.

🎭 What: 44th Festival de Otoño

📍 Where: Multiple venues across Madrid

📅 When: Nov. 6–29

🎟️ Tickets: Check website

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2. 🍤 Eat your way around Galapagar at €3,50 a tapa

Feeling adventurous this rainy weekend? Are you tired of the same cookie-cutter speciality coffee shops in Malasaña? Tired of having to interact with people in general? Do you hate your kids?

• Give yourself 75 minutes to flee the city and land in the wondrous land of Galapagar, a small town that sounds like some island in Ecuador but is in fact just a few kilometers northwest of Madrid.

• While most of the tapa crawls we cover here are a leisurely affair, this one has a clock. Because why relax when you can be even more stressed?

• For the final weekend of Galapagar’s autumn tapas fair, 24 bars, restaurants, and pastry shops are putting their own spin on the €3.50 tapa. Most of the savory dishes are served from 1:45 to 3 p.m., which means if you plan on doing lunch the Spanish way (3 p.m.), you’re fucked. Be there early.

I care so much about you that I asked ChatGPT to create the perfect tapa crawl just for you, and this is what it came up with:

• Start on Calle San Gregorio. At number 6, Vinopasión tops an Inés Rosales olive oil cracker with Gorgonzola cream, fig jam, and walnuts. Up the same street at number 27, Cervecería San Gregorio is doing callos con garbanzos: tripe and chickpeas with chorizo and blood sausage.

Jesus H. Christ, in what world is that a crawl? By the second stop, you already need to call it quits (after some tripe and chickpeas, you probably need a siesta). See? This is why AI will never replace us. Back to me.

My recommendations: at Esquina 29, try the strips of Iberian pork that come with Buffalo sauce and crunchy cheese popcorn.

• Or head to Restaurante Imperial for a cannelloni stuffed with secreto ibérico and topped with shavings of jamón.

• If you try just one thing you’d never think you’d try, make it Vista Nevada’s Iberian pork cheek gyoza, served over sweet potato with a tangy tamarind leche de tigre.

• At Manhattan Bar (yes, very Spanish), the New York chopped cheese gets the tapas treatment: ground beef, onions, melted American cheese, and house sauce on brioche.

• Cafetería Lima 21 is serving octopus tiradito, while Encanto Tradición Perú&España gives chicken wings a ceviche-inspired treatment with lime, ají, and onion.

• Save dessert for after 3. The pastry shops keep their regular hours, so there’s no need to stuff your face with a strawberry Chantilly brioche from Pastelería Cueto.

• Pastelería Segado has mini cheesecakes, and Pastelería Mayca is filling a croissant with chocolate pastry cream.

Oh! And if you’re feeling competitive, pick up a voting leaflet and collect at least five stamps from the local venues to enter the draw for a €300 hamper of olive products.

Enjoy.

🍴 What: Feria de la Tapa en Galapagar

📍 Where: 24 participating bars, restaurants, and pastry shops around Galapagar

📅 When: Through Nov. 15. (Savory shops close at 3 p.m.)

🎟️ Tickets: €3.50 per tapa; drinks sold separately

3. 💊 Nazi puppets! Inside the bunker with Magda Goebbels (No, it’s not a play for children)