And you know itâs October when the military planes start rehearsing for the National Day military parade over Madrid on Oct. 12, but for a split second, the first time you hear them, you think the Russians are finally at it.
No rest for the angry. This week has been an emotional rollercoaster. Between the exhaustion caused by protesting/camping at Puerta del Sol and the existential anguish caused by La Bola Negra, it really feels like we need a break.
We have options. Yes, Guitarricadelafuente and Evanescence (Google it, kids!) are performing in Madrid this weekend, but tickets are sold out đȘ. Maybe there are still tickets available for Shakira?
If that still doesnât work for you, I have a few interesting options.
Happy weekend!
1. đ·Madrid's biggest jazz festival is back (please donât do jazz hands)
Does Gen Z like jazz? Itâs one of those things Iâm not really clear about. You know, like Uggs. Is it ironic consumption? Do they genuinely like it? Or is it cheugy? (Google it, boomers). Whatever the case may be, I think jazz is pretty cool (I even dabbled in it when my mother, a jazz singer, invited me for a duet. Fortunately, I didnât quit my day job).
But I digress. If you like jazz, clear your calendar for the next two months! JAZZMADRID returns today, bringing some of the biggest names in international jazz to venues across the capital for nearly two months of concerts.
Happy 100th, Miles and Trane. This year marks the centenary of the births of both Miles Davis and John Coltrane (Google them, kids!), so naturally JAZZMADRID is going big on both. Several concerts will reinterpret their music, including Emmet Cohenâs Miles & Coltrane at 100, James Carterâs Trane: A Centennial Supreme and Emma-Jean Thackrayâs Dear Miles: A Love Letter.
2. đš Cruza Carabanchel 2026: Get out of downtown Madrid, cross the river, and discover Carabanchel
If you think youâre cool because you and your friends go to brunch in Malasaña on a Saturday morning, think again. You are, like, basically sheeple. Real cool people cross the Manzanares River and go for some bitter torrefacto in Carabanchel, Madridâs up-and-coming, artsy neighborhood that is claiming its own identity and rejecting the snobbish trend of comparing every grungy neighborhood to SoHo. So weâll call it, I donât know, Madridâs Bushwick.
As it fights gentrification and asks for it to be called Carabanchel, Madridâs Bushwick is hosting the fourth edition of Cruza Carabanchel, which (seriously now) turns one of the cityâs most interesting creative districts into a giant, neighborhood-wide cultural festival through Sunday.
Basically, Carabanchel is the venue. Rather than concentrating everything in one place, the festival spreads exhibitions, theater, dance, concerts, literary events, workshops, and meetups across cultural spaces throughout the district. Itâs a fantastic opportunity for you to see it, fall in love with it, buy an apartment there, and bring up property value so the people who have been living there their entire lives have to move somewhere else.
Anyway, itâs fun! More than 100 established and emerging artists are taking part, with a program spanning visual arts and design, performing arts, crafts, literature, and music.
And thatâs sort of the point. The festival is organized by Carabanchel Distrito Cultural, a community of local artists, collectives, cultural organizations, and residents trying to put the neighborhoodâs increasingly vibrant creative scene on Madridâs cultural map.
Our advice? Wander. Pick a couple of things from the program that look interesting and use them as an excuse to explore the neighborhood.
đïžTickets: Free, but check website for individual activities
3. đ Nascencia: Fall down, get up, flamenco
If this week has left you feeling emotionally battered (you know it has), hereâs some interpretive dance for that. Madridâs Spanish Ballet is premiering a new show at Teatros del Canal about something we could probably all use right now: picking yourself up after everything goes to shit hell.
From darkness to light. Conceived as a contemporary Spanish dance suite, the show follows a journey from pain and adversity to rebuilding and rebirth, combining Spanish folk traditions, flamenco, and contemporary dance.
The drama. Live flamenco music accompanies the dancers, while lighting and color transform along with them as the piece moves from darkness toward something considerably more hopeful.
Theyâre the new kids on the block (not the quintuagenery boy band, of course). The Ballet Español de la Comunidad de Madrid was only created in 2024, with the mission of keeping traditional forms like flamenco, escuela bolera, folklore, and stylized Spanish dance alive while also dragging them into the 21st century.
Anyway, whenever thereâs a flamenco show thatâs not a tourist trap, I like to mention it. This is one of those.
đ Where: Teatros del Canal, Calle de Cea BermĂșdez 1, Madrid
đ When: Through Oct. 4
đïž Tickets start at âŹ9
4. đ Cayetana, Grande de España: Inside the fabulous life of Spainâs most famous duchess
Yes, yes. I am aware. There are hundreds of tents at the Puerta del Sol, and people are rightfully angry. But as Dickens would say, it is the best of times, it is the worst of times. So why not take a break and go check out the lifestyle of one of Spainâs most talked-about aristocrats (and maybe get angrier while youâre at it)?
Just call her Cayetana. This new exhibition at the beautiful Palacio de Liria (unlike you, she was actually born there) celebrates her centenary by bringing together more than 200 objects, including works of art, haute couture dresses (obviously), photographs, personal letters and possessions, to tell the story of the duchess as patron, collector, painter, opera lover, animal advocate and custodian of the Alba familyâs ridiculous artistic inheritance. She was also a Cayetana before it was synonymous with Spainâs young conservative movement (and covered by the NYT).
And then thereâs the house. The Madrid edition adds a section marking 70 years since the reconstruction of the Palacio de Liria. The palace was bombed and looted during the Civil War in 1936, leaving little more than its four façades standing. Cayetana and her first husband, Luis MartĂnez de Irujo, eventually completed the enormous reconstruction project begun by her father.
The exhibition has been designed specifically around the rooms of Cayetanaâs former Madrid residence, so youâre essentially exploring her bougie life inside the place where much of it actually happened.
If you still need a dose of non-Spanish costumbrismo (Google it, foreigners), weâve got an interesting option. And thatâs because nobody photographed ordinary people quite like the legendary British photographer Martin Parr.
He turned crowded beaches, cheap souvenirs, Kardashian-style tans, questionable fashion choices (not to be repetitive but aka Kardashian fashion), and the general weirdness of modern consumer life into an art form, usually with ridiculously saturated colors and an unforgiving flash worthy of making it to the cover of Vice.
Now Madrid gets a taste. At GalerĂa Marc Bibiloni, this exhibit brings together some of Parrâs most recognizable work, including images from The Last Resort, his unflattering portrait of 1980s British seaside life (pretty much Magaluf in 2026), and Common Sense, his close-up catalog of mass consumption: fast food, jewelry, painted nails and possible carcinoma sunburned skin.
Another section explores his unlikely relationship with the fashion world. Parr freely admitted he knew basically nothing about designer labels, which may explain why his fashion photography looks so unmistakable. Instead of glamour, you get fur coats, bouffant hair and wrinkles (which is way more fun).
Bittersweet timing. Parr died last December, making the exhibition an opportunity to revisit the unique visual language he left behind.
Spend enough time with his photographs, and youâll start seeing Parr pictures everywhere: on the beach, at the supermarket, even in the mirror (I speak from experience).
đș What to watch if you donât want to leave the couch this weekendâŠ
đș Mini Series: Veneno | 2020
đWhere to watch: Netflix
âWhatâs it about: A biographical story of Spanish TV personality and transgender icon La Veneno and those who surrounded her during the 90s and the 00s. Directed by Los Javis, itâs probably one of the best miniseries of this decade. You will laugh, and you will cry (a lot).
Whatâs it about? Upstairs at Mercado de ChamartĂn, Afuego is basically what happens when a serious butcher shop and a steakhouse decide to move in together. This place specializes in Spanish and international beef, with cuts ranging from ribeye to porterhouse.
Why you should go: Because choosing the meat is part of the experience. The team will walk you through the different cuts, breeds, and origins and help you figure out what you actually want before it hits the grill.
Bottom line: Come pick a beautiful piece of cow and let people who know considerably more about meat than you do take it from there.
đ Address: Mercado de ChamartĂn, Calle de Bolivia 9, Madrid
â CĂrculo Coffee Studio: A little taste of Panama in Madrid
Whatâs it about: CĂrculo Coffee Studio is a specialty coffee shop built around Panamanian coffee, bringing carefully selected beans from Panama to Madrid. But the idea goes beyond caffeine: the space mixes coffee with art, culture, and music.
Why you should go: Panama produces some of the world's most sought-after specialty coffee, and CĂrculo wants you to actually notice what you're drinking rather than mindlessly inhaling an espresso on your way to work.
Bottom line: Come get your caffeine fix and leave knowing considerably more about Panamanian coffee than you did when you walked in.
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