SAN ISIDRO CELEBRATIONS: FREE CONCERTS ON PLAZA MAYOR & TEMPLO DE DEBOD, 14 & 15 May 2017 !
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by Jack Wright
Madrid is celebrating the Feast of San Isidro Labrador these days. St. Isidore the Farm Laborer, born in Madrid in 1082, is the Spanish capital’s patron saint. His feast day is on the 15th of May but the fiestas have been going on for some time now.
The zesty Marileño chulapos and chulapas are binging on Smart, Dumb and St. Clare Donuts (Rosquillas Listas, Tontas y Santa Clara), squid sandwiches, Spanish omelet, oxtail stews, a religious pilgrimage to the tune of guitars and tambourines, street parties (verbenas), bullfights and concerts.
Lots of free concerts!
GUIDEPOST has selected for you those that are held on the 14th and the 15th of May (Sunday and Monday, a holiday in Madrid) in Plaza Mayor, Madrid’s premier historical landmark , and the Templo de Debod, the hauntingly beautiful +2000 year old Egyptian temple in downtown Madrid, of all places!
Here they are:
PLAZA MAYOR, 14 May 2017
HOMENAJE DE CASAS REGIONALES A SAN ISIDRO
11:00 – 14:00 h
HOMENAJE A SAN ISIDRO DE LAS CASAS REGIONALES EN MADRID (Tribute to St. Isidore by the representatives of some of the most important regions of Spain in Madrid: Centro Castellano-Manchego de Latina, Centro Segoviano en Madrid, Hogar Vasco en Madrid, Casa de Castilla La Mancha en Madrid, Centro Asturiano en Madrid, Centro Extremeño en Aluche, Centro Gallego en Madrid, Casa Córdoba en Madrid, Centro Aragonés en Madrid and Casa de Zamora.
This is your chance to get to watch and enjoy the folk song, dance and colorful costumes of Andalusia, Aragón, Asturias, Catalunya, Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Extremadura and the Basque Country.
MASTRETA
20:00 h
A sui generis orchestra, Mastreta’s music is a mix of music sheet and improvised notes and offers the attendees the uniqueness that comes from infusing experimental Rock into popular old melodies.
GUADALUPE PLATA
21:20 h
Guadalupe Plata is a trio whose music consists of timeless flamenco, potent Rock, and the magic spell of Mississippi blues. Their latest record “Guadalupe Plata” is replete with myths, demons and light. Their concerts never fail to surprise their audiences.
MEUTE
22:30 h
Self-proclained techno marching band, these Meute chaps from Hamburg, Germany never fail to surprise the crowd with their version of the unforgettable melody of “Rej” by Ame, said to be “the track that has ruled dancefloors from Miami to Ibiza to Tokyo and beyond” since it was released in 2006.
PLAZA MAYOR, 15 May 2017
EL TEATRO DE LA ZARZUELA CANTA EN LA PLAZA MAYOR
22:00 h
The Teatro de la Zarzuela which was inaugurated in 1856 is Madrid’s most important theater dedicated to the zarzuela, a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song and dance. The Zarzuela Theater reflects the mood and essence of the city and its people, in common with the Plaza Mayor.
On the occasion of the fiestas of St. Isidore, the Teatro is offering a concert in Plaza Mayor written and presented by bel canto tenor, professor and producer Enrique Viana with La Zarzuela singers, dancers, chorus and orchestra under the exquisite musical directorship of conductor Oliver Diaz.
Two thousand year old Egyptian temple in downtown Madrid
“Twilight with Classical Music”
TEMPLO DE DEBOD, 14 May 2017
CUARTETO MATRICE
20:30 h.
Created in 2016 Matrice holds concerts with special emphasis on the lesser known Spanish repertoire for string quartets, such as the “Paisaje y Evocaciones de España” (Scenes and Evocations of Spain).
TEMPLO DE DEBOD, 15 May 2017
CUARTETO BAUHAUS
20:30 h.
Bauhaus’ concert at the Debod is titled “Aires Populares de España e Hispanoamérica” (Popular Airs of Spain and Latin America). It is a journey that takes audiences to Spain, Colombia, Argentina and Mexico through the countries’ respective classical music and dance.
HOW TO GET TO
- PLAZA MAYOR
Metro
Lines 1, 2, 3: Sol station; Line 1: Tirso de Molina station
Buses
Lines 3, 17, 18, 23, 31 - TEMPLO DE DEBOD
Calle Ferraz 1
Metro
Lines 3 & 10: Plaza de España station; Line 3: Ventura Rodríguez station
Buses
Line 74 (Bus Stop on Calle Ferraz, in front of the Temple or on Calle Pintor Rosales)
Lines 25, 39, 46, 75, 138 y C1 (Bus stop on Cuesta de San Vicente-Cadarso)
Lines 3, 44, 133, 148 y C2 (Bus stop on Plaza de España)
Lines 1, 2, 74 (Bus stop Princesa-Ventura Rodríguez)
Images
Featured image: San Isidro Fiestas poster, Fair use
“San Isidro 2017″/Diario de Madrid, BCC BY4.0
Debod/Dani Romero via Flickr, CC BY-SA2.0
