TAPAPIES: A TAPAS & MUSIC WORLD TOUR
Closer to Spain: polpettone dela nonna. That’s Grandmother’s Meatloaf for you, from Italy!
By Jazmin Moore
Pics: J. Moore and Tapapies
No passport? No problem! Tapapiés will take you on a twirl around the world – on multicultural tapas, cañas and music. No travel documents required!
Tapapies Weekend One is complete. But another round of tapas and cañas of this Multicultural Food and Music Festival is going around on Weekend Two, from October 27th until the 29th.
The festival completely takes over Lavapies, stretching from Plaza de Lavapiés to Tirso de Molina, crossing streets like Argumosa, Embajadores, Lavapiés, Santa Isabel, and ending at Miguel Servet.
Lavapiés, a barrio in old Madrid, is known to be melting pot of ethnics, from Indians to Mexicans to Africans to Brazilians, and this festival celebrates their different cultures. The focus? Their food and music!
Visitors are given a Tapapiés map of which restaurants are joining, which special tapa you’ll get for 2.50€ (along with an Estrella Damm beer, of course), and which musical groups are performing where.
With over 120 tapas to try, and about 65 different musical performances, it’s understandable why the festival lasts more than one weekend. Who wants to be rushed on a yummy world tour?
Here’s 2016’s Best Tapa, Garbanzos Marymonte (Marymonte chickpeas)
Participating restaurants display a Tapapiés flag, along with a barcode that you can scan with your smartphone to vote for the best tapa of the festival. Competition is tough; almost every restaurant is swarmed outside with eager people waiting to get in for a taste.
And if the wait is long? No big deal! There are plenty of shows to keep you entertained. Groups from Afrojam through Blues Lee to Atacapaca gig on the streets, and the young and the not so young dance along. You might even join in meantime.
Berenjena saharahui
While the festival surely is a cheap way to party all day and all night, the main idea is to celebrate so many different cultures being able to come together and stand proud in their diversity. Being able to munch on a berenjena saharaui from the Sahara while listening to Hakuna Ma Samba play the sounds of Rio de Janiero is something you won’t forget in a hurry.
Saboor Tapioca’s gluten-free crepe
If you didn’t get a chance to visit during Weekend 1, I definitely suggest you try and make it for Weekend 2.
And as for my personal favorite tapa? The Brazilian Saboor Tapioca gluten free crepe. I’m already planning my next trip!
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About Jazmin
For one so young, Jazmin has ample experience in the media. Currently reporting for Guidepost, she has done a stint at radio stations like the South Florida Journal, and was Entertainment News Director at Florida Atlantic University’s Owl TV.
