While three days may seem at first not too much time, a full weekend can make for a great time in a city like Madrid. From these lines we dare to suggest three slightly different plans with respect to those things which the city is famous for and you’ll find featured in most guidebooks.

To begin the evening of Friday, few things are better than to have a traditional vermouth on tap along with a tasty snack in the beautiful traditional Corps Tavern, located in the beautiful Plaza of the Corps Guards , next to the huge Cultural Center Conde Duque (http://www.esmadrid.com/condeduque/portal.do), a walk along the imposing Baroque architecture is always advisable to open your appetite.

Not far from there, we suggest a cozy dinner at Gumbo restaurant which specializes in cocktails and New Orleans style meals before going to see any of the six daily sessions of the 5 functions of less than 15 minutes of less than 15 people offered at the Microteatro project for money, close to the club ocho and one of the temples of modern indie-pop-rock in Madrid.

As expected on Saturday it is hard to get up early, a good way to awaken can be by taking walk in the West park to the University and eat in the gorgeous modern building restaurant in the always seductive Museum of Costume  worth a visit just for its fantastic collection of Fortuny y Madrazo gowns. Often semi-deserted, the Zen atmosphere of the museum, emphasized by its most serene,  hypnotic gardens can be an excellent anti-hangover prescription .

In this idyllic setting the elegant Palacio de Cristal in the Retiro Park, fits in perfectly and where we can extend our sluggish state of trance surrendering to the mixture of geometric order and organic sensory experience that the installation of Soledad Sevilla offers to then descend the Moyano slope to enjoy sharing the view of the long afternoon vanishing  and turning into night from the terrace of the extension of the Reina Sofia Museum with its futuristic views of the south of the city.

And before going to bed, take advantage of the opening until eleven at night of the Thyssen Museum’s temporary exhibitions to familiarize yourself with the seminal Impressionist painter Berthe Morisot.

You should not rise late on Sunday afternoon to enjoy the magic of the Rastro flea market  and the extraordinary culinary magic of La Latina when the market is over, for they are few better places for tapas in a big way that the environment formed by the Plaza of the  Humilladero The Plaza de la Cebada and the Plaza de la Paja and, above all the adjacent streets, including the famous Cava Alta, Cava Baja and Almond Street.

Paul Oilzum

Theatre, music, drinks, museums, flea markets and tapas are a very comprehensive plan for an intense weekend when renting apartments in Madrid whether you follow the suggested routes or you decide to alter them.

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Translated by: Marc
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The Museo ABC Centro de Arte/Dibujo/Ilustración of Madrid exhibits, until the 26th of February, the exhibition ‘La elegancia del dibujo. Crónica de Paris de Carlos Sáenz de Tejada’ (‘The elegance of a drawing. Chronicles of Paris by Carlos Sáenz de Tejada’ in English). The exhibition, for the first time represented in Spain, is organized around 300 drawings that illustrate fashion and were made in the 1930s by Sáenz de Tejada in Paris.

The drawings are a chronicle of fashion at the beginning of the 20th century, and in them we can see the role of women through the aesthetic of the body in those year. In an era of post-war and recession in the world, both events would generate change in production, and fashion begins to have a preponderant role and a strong impact on the economy. These are the years where designers like Coco Chanel emerge, and with her modernism in fashionm that would transform the aesthetics of the feminine figure including, for the first time, trousers as a feminine piece of clothing.

The exhibition, that has the support of the Madrid Council, contains interesting documents that enhance the image of Sáenz de Tejada, like, for example, an article written by the historian Jaime Brihuega, that gives good account of the time, and an article by the New Yorker journalist Judith Thurman.

Carlos Sáenz de Tejada de Lezama, son of an old aristocratic family from La Rioja, was born in Tangiers, Morocco, in 1897. He was a painter, illustrator, decorator, poster designer and also did drawings, always alienated to the main trends of the time. During the Spanish Civil War he actively supported the Nationalist Front, making propaganda illustrations that were in the Press Service and the Propaganda of the National Army in Salamanca. After the war had finished, he collaborated with book illustrations: ‘Poemas de la Bestia y el Ángel’ (‘Poems of the Beast and the Angel’), by the monarchic activist José María Pema and ‘Historia de la Cruzada Española’ (History of the Spanish Crusade’) by the journalist and historian of the Franco regime José Arrarás.

His studies in painting began with Daniel Cortés in Oran and, in 1916, he entered the Royal Academy of San Fernando. He began to publish illustrations from a very young age in important publications of the time such as ‘Nuevo Mundo’, ‘La Libertad’, ‘Elegancias’ and ‘Esfera’ among others. In 1924 he was selected for the Autumn Salon of Madrid, where he shared the honor with painters like Picasso and Gutiérrez Solana.

In 1926, the Junta de Ampliación de Estudios gave him a grant to carry on his studies of mural painting in Paris, staying there until 1935. That’s where he developed a prolific illustrating career at Femina, Harper’s Bazaar, Jardin des Modes, Vogue and Robe, transforming his strokes into a stylish representation of beauty and fashion. These would be his best years of production and they would be put down in 775 illustrations.

For more information: http://www.museoabc.es/es/exposicion/83/La_elegancia_del_dibujo

Nancy Guzman

A good alternative to relax and begin 2012 with positive energies is to rent apartments in Madrid Don’t miss out on this chance to spending a few pleasant days of relax and get to know the work of Sáenz de Tejada at Museo ABC.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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These aren’t easy or beautiful times for Europe. Both Lucas Papademos in Greece and Mario Monti in Italy are Prime Miniesters who haven’t been chosen democratically but bankers who are closely associated with Goldman Sachs. Both are, at the moment, only the most extreme example of the phenomenon of imposition with the active collusion of the European Union on behalf of the main responsables of the crisis. In other words, the finance markets (who annually turnover 3,450 billion euros on a world scale compared to the 45 that real economy creates around the world), its representatives in governments around the continent who haven’t had the need of carrying out elections with the mission of demolishing of the public sector, that constitutes the base of the Welfare State while banks, insurance agencies and other financial establishments obtain money from the Central European Bank at an interest of 1.25% to loan it to the same countries that they saved from collapsing with public funds at an interest rate which is exceedingly high, something that can only bring nothing other than the downfall of their economies and a debt that’s bigger and bigger all the time. This debt is countered by these technocrats, imposed as governors, by administering new cuts, privatizations and calls for austerity, thus creating an atrocious vicious circle that can only be described as a true financial coup d’état destined to completely destroy any sign of social protection policies.

In such circumstances it’s good to know some good, nice and cheap restaurants where you can eat for under 20 euros, such as Ernie’s Station for the 50s rock style lovers, American border food with Tex-Mex flavour and the vertigo of the sound of Harley Davidsons on Route 66.

Or, if we prefer the Izakaya style restaurants in Japan, the wonderfully cute Hanakura (http://www.hanakura.es/) doesn’t just offer daily menus for under 13 euros but also a free hour’s car parking.

For the lovers of a more Mediterranean atmosphere, there are few better options than Grazie Mille, Roman charm put through New York’s Italian aesthetic with contemporary design, where it’s nice to drink a few Martinis at the bar listening to soulful, chill-out and electro-tango in front of its excellent dishes (it also has a daily menu that costs around about 10 euros, including an exquisite coffee and an entirely Italian menu).

But the star of the moment in terms of value for money and beauty is probably Con Dos Fogones. Located in the charming and galdós-esque district of Conde Duque, it offers a menu based on Mediterranean food from Monday to Friday for just 10 euros, a menu that mixes tradition, avant-garde and fusion with an elegant and informal presentation. The dishes, for which they use seasonal ingredients only, change every day in cycles of about two months.

Paul Oilzum

The four aforementioned restaurants are places with a special charm of their own that offer good food from different traditions at a very reasonable price. You might want to visit them when you rent apartments in Madrid

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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The twenty-first century so far, belongs to Barcelona, ​​but it would be easy to refute that Real Madrid, chosen by FIFA as the best football club of the twentieth century, remains perhaps as the most legendary. It is, of course, by the number of titles won, but also for having been instrumental in the creation of the European Cup and a rich past history of 110 years with all kinds of stories, including controversial signings, players who only realized they had been seriously injured in the cold polar former Soviet Union in the middle of a shower after the game, locker room speeches, the famous stage fright that the famous Santiago Bernabeu stadium inspired (sayong coined by Jorge Valdano) the equally famous comeback spirit of European nights and a long etcetera.

Much of this history is unknown to the public, despite the name and image ownership of the club that Franco used for almost forty years of dictatorship, Republican affiliation of the institution in the years before the victory of the  coup in the Spanish Civil War, parentage of which are testimony to this day both the purple stripe of the shield as well as the T-shirt that the team has worn on countless occasions as a guest team

Indeed, in August 1936, on the verge of when Madrid was surrounded, terrified and bombed almost at a  daily rate by the rebel army with military support from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, which used the Spanish war as a testing ground for weapons and military tactics they would use in the Second World War, the majority of members of Real Madrid,  requested the seizure of the club by the Popular Front, the coalition of democratic parties won the elections earlier that year and consequently ruled legally in Spain.

What should not seem strange if we consider not only that the area of ​​the Madrid field, the legendary Chamartín stadium was in a sensible socialist tradition neighborhood but most of its members were left wing Republicans (in fact former president, Rafael Sanchez-Guerra, was a Republican-Socialist candidate for the municipal elections in 1931, who later on became Minister of the republican government in exile in the forties).

For such a rich and contradictory history its  worth visiting the Museum of the Real Madrid (http://www.realmadrid.com/), where photos, glasses, documents, videos, boots and shirts weave the path of the world’s most successful club in the very belly of the impressive Bernabeu stadium, which you may also visit on a very complete tour (including visiting the pitch and the dressing rooms) for the same price.

Paul Oilzum

Probably you never would have imagined that there was a defining time in our history when Real Madrid was the favorite team of the anti-fascists in the world. The city itself is so full of exciting surprises, as you will see for yourself when you rent apartments in Madrid

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Translated by: Marc
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Around 1941, right in the middle of postwar Spain, a surrealist and absurd comedy publication appeared which had just as many fans as detractors. It was ‘La Codorniz’, ‘the most audacious magazine for the most intelligent reader’, as it defined itself.

It had a long life, from 1941 until 1978, when, probably due to changes in society, it couldn’t adapt to new times and stopped being published. However, it’s definitely the ‘dean of comedy press’, as it self-proclaimed later on. Its graphic and literary humour inspired other magazines that were to be born in the dawn of democracy, such as ‘Hermano Lobo’, ‘El Papus’, or ‘El Jueves’, with the latter still on sale.

The founder of ‘La Codorniz’, Miguel Mihura, who was also its director, had in its first years writers such as Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Wenceslao Fernández Florez and Enrique Jardiel Poncela, among others, as collaborators. In 1944, Mihura sold the publication and its chief writer, Álvaro de Laiglesia, became the director of the magazine. And so a new era began, a more fruitful one. Together with Fernando Perdiguero, his right-hand man, big figures of comedy such as Mingote, Chumy Chúmez, Gila or Forges began to collaborate with the magazine, as well as writers such as Rafael Azcona. The latter years of the magazine were directed by Manuel Summers and Cándido respectively.

‘La Codorniz’, that in its beginnings presented a more reduced format, began selling at 50 cents and ended up costing 15 pesetas. It went from selling 35,000 copies a week in its first stage to 80,000 later on, even surpassing 250,000 copies in its extra issues. It didn’t escape censorship, which it dodged masterfully, and it had to pay many fines and even deal with closure during four months.

This retrospective of ‘La Codorniz’ can bee seen at the Museo de la Ciudad in Madrid (Príncipe Vergara, 140) in an exhibition that will be open to the public until the 15th of April. The exhibition, commissioned by Felipe Hernández, tries to pay tribute to the magazines soul figures – De Laiglesia, Perdiguero and Herreros- as well as reviving it for those who knew those stories full of absurd, intelligent and avant-garde humour. And for those who never got to know it, now is a good chance to do so.

The exhibition also gathers more than 300 sketches, all of them originals, from Spanish cartoonists who dedicated themselves to comedy during the last century and this one as well.

From its birth on the 8th of June 1941 until its disappearance on the 11th of December 1978, they edited a total of 1898 issues. 37 years of history of a magazine that inspired new publications, such as the aforementioned, as well as the digital newspaper ‘La Kodorniz’, who takes pride in being its successor.

For more information: http://www.lakodorniz.com/.

Dew DROPS

If you are in the Spanish capital, come to the Museo de la Ciudad de Madrid to see the exhibition ‘La Codorniz. 1941-1978′. But, above all, don’t forget to rent apartments in Madrid

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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From the 18th of January until the 5th of February you can enjoy, at the Sala Roja in Madrid, the entertaining theatre play ‘Time and the Conways’ (‘El tiempo y los Conways’ in Spanish).

From the hand of Pérez de la Fuente Producciones, this sensational play based on the novel of John Boynton Priestley, published in 1937, arrives at the Teatros del Canal.

The story could fit in the drama genre, but that plot goes a lot further. The historical context of the lives of the characters is the first half of the 20th century. Europe is a swarm of new democracies, social leaders, found thoughts and dreams of freedom. But the arrival of the First World War was to change everything that was established until then. When it seems that the light of hope is shining in the horizon, the Second World War takes it away with its dark halo. Fear, misery and misfortune invade the hearts of the Europeans again, who see how their hopes of prosperity are once again broken. The characters show us the story of a wealthy family from outside of London, the Conways. We can see the reactions and the feelings of the ten characters for two nights only. The nights in which they knew of the beginning of both wars. A dramatic plot which was completely revolutionary for the time in which J.B. Priestley wrote the story, but also for more contemporary times.

The adaptation of the work was possible thanks to the excellent work of Luis Alberto de Cuenca and Alícia Mariño. The director of the play, as well as the scenographer, is Juan Carlos Pérez de la Fuente.

The chosen stage for this play is no other than the Sala Roja de los Teatros del Canal. Located right in the centre of Madrid, on Cea Bermúdez 1, it can be easily accessed by public transport. The capacity of the theatre is of 863 seats set out the ‘Italian way’, to increase the visibility of the spectators. The name comes from the decoration and the lining of the armchairs (Roja is red in Spanish). At the highest point of the room, a large and innovative LED lamp is able to change the appearance of the room thanks to its spectacular colour changes.

The prices for the best-placed general seats for ‘Time and the Conways’ are of 25€, while in the amphitheatre they cost 18€. Wednesdays is ‘Spectator Day’ and the prices reduce themselves to 7€. If you buy the tickets in advance you get a 15% reduction. Using the Carnet Joven or the OAP Card you will have a 25% discount. The tickets can be bought at http://www.teatroscanal.com/1000351000201/tiempo-conway__1.html

Visiting the city of Madrid in January always has a special charm. Nobody should be surprised if one day we wake up to find that the parks and the trees are all covered in snow.

Fernando Paterna

Travelling to Madrid in January is a unique experience. The Paseo del Retiro, the Prado Museum, the Plaza Mayor or the Palacio Real are excellent places that must be visited during the stay in the Spanish capital. Renting apartments in Madrid is the most comfortable and practical way to spend a few days visiting the city. For money and comfort reasons, don’t hesitate to rent an apartment, you’ll come out better for it.

Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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A double concert will open the year of live music for lovers of Gothic and Darkwave, two bands of great experience, lots of records and, at least in the case of Clan of Xymox, tons of musical experimentation.

Clan of Xymox starts in 1984, when Ronny Moorings, Anka Wolbert and Pieter Nooter join the project, which by then was rather based on Darkwave with an electronical background  that made a difference in the sound of the band. The first albums are released by the label 4AD, which include songs such as Muscoviet Mosquito, A Day, Medusa and Louise, among many others. They then begin to experiment with other sounds and the band lineup changes, perhaps the strangest stage is the one of the Metamorphosis album, after that phase of experimentation they return to their dark bases with excellent work such as Hidden Faces and Creatures. The current lineup of the band is: Ronny Moorings, Mojca Zugna, Denise Dijkstra, Jasper Agnes and Mario Usai.

On the other hand, we have The Arch, a band formed in 1987 in Belgium, which to date have at least 10 albums with cult themes that acquire characteristics of true anthems like Ribdancer. A great double bill for a concert that will take much of the past but also from the future, as Clan of Xymox has a new album entitled “Darkest Hour”, there you will have the opportunity to hear the latest of the Dutch Formation and all their hits.

The concert will be held at the  Sala Heineken in Madrid, on January 13, the door opening time is at 20:15 hrs, ticket price is 22 € in advance and 25 €  at the box office. If you are planning a trip to Madrid in January, there is no excuse to miss this event, and if you do not plan to do it, Do it now.

For more information visit:: http://www.facebook.com/events/225365060826050/

Luz Obscura

Good live music and good company in a beautiful and interesting city, isn’t that a great deal? Rent apartments in Madrid and do not miss the concert of Clan of Xymox and The Arch

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Translated by: Marc
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During the 90′s, when everyone crackled with the sounds of grunge with bands like Pearl Jam and other commercial events of the time, many other high caliber bands were arming the beginning of a new movement, which was parallel to all the alternative scene and that definitely filtered into record labels where not many would realize that the future of music was there. Among these bands, and to summarize some artists we include Melvins, Kyuss, Fu Manchu, along with Monster Magnet and Electric Wizard. The most significant of these cases was that they kept the heavier sound at the time, without being exactly metal, but they led the dynamics of doom metal and rock to places not previously visited. These bands will be essential to understanding the phenomenon of Stoner Rock or Desert Rock that will spread from the late 90′s until today.

Beyond Stoner, heavy rock bands of the late 90′s and onward, discovered new ways of interpreting classic hard rock and heavy metal riffs. They were already new times, and so, the trip left turning away from Satanism, violence or conflicts of the Cold War, very metal-specific thematic themes of the eighties. In the case of the new horde of metal bands, the trip was an interior one, in some cases even cosmical, restoring life to the almost dead genre.

Mastodon is one of the heirs of those bands that learned to go beyond both conceptually and musically. Formed in Atlanta, Georgia, Mastodon knew how to amalgamate grunge sounds with even slower progressions with heavy, fast pure hardcore riffs along with changes of rock and progressive jazz  . In other words: “Sludge Metal”. So, Mastodon demonstrate with their album “Remission” to be one of the first to establish the genre back in 2002. However, it is not until the release of their flagship album in 2004, the renowned “Leviathan”, in which the band will become an inspiration to many other metal-avant-garde projects.

Recently, Mastodon just released their latest album entitled “The Hunter”, which of course keeps their  heavy sound, but now the band is at reconstruction point with high-intensity short songs with less progressive arrangements, pointing more towards classics riffs that make “The Hunter” easy to access to new ears. If you have not heard anything by Mastodon before, perhaps this album is a good starting point and then taking it from there to the first records of a greater intensity. Mastodon will be in Madrid on January 23 at the Joy Club  still known in the capital as “Joy Eslava” despite its name change. For more on Mastodon, visit: http://www.mastodonrocks.com/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Madrid and hear the awesome sound of Mastodon. The rock scene in Madrid is vibrating and is waiting for you to advance into the depths of its underground

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Translated by: Marc
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Today, it is difficult to find places, where you can listen to good music, or see the performance of bands that have much more to play than the normal rock n roll, which pleased everyone. If you see it in a sharp way, many people opt for the rock proposals, just as an additional way of entertainment and dancing. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with it, but rock n roll also has the gift of being experimental, risky and unconventional. Madrid has been traditionally a rocker city.

The groove scene showed so thirty years ago, and its great influence on the rock that later came, not only in Spain but also in Latin America. The history and the emergence of the Madrilenian groove scene, is very different from what is happening today in Spain in terms of rock. Back then, it was a context of dictatorship and the emergence of a herd of young punks, who sought to conquer the world. Today, the rock in Spain seems to be a sort of rest or dormancy, conquered by the frequencies of “indie” and “modern” still waiting, like so many corners of the world, that rock comes back to save us.

In Madrid there are many spaces for rock n roll today. There are bars, clubs and some discos, where you can listen to the best of classic garage rock. However, other trends such as the space rock and krautrock, are somehow limited. There is no city today, where the psych rock is really what dominates the public and rocker style: there is no “Space Rock Heaven”, at least not yet. Nevertheless, don’t let stop you in your search for new spaces for experimental music.

Thus, a space like La Boite has been presenting some of the most important bands of the psychedelic and experimental rock in recent years. Concert bands like: Mugstar, Acid Mothers Temple, Silver Apples, Bardo Pond, Guitar Wolf, among others, prove it. Despite all the abundance of sounds currently available on the Internet, the psychedelic rock remains as one of the last bastions of experimentation to which popular culture can still access.

Besides being a concert space, La Boite after midnight becomes one of the hottest places to dance and get lost in frenetic rhythms all night. La Boite has become one of the favorite spots for the international LGBT community in Madrid. In La Boite you hear the best sounds of the 80′s and 90′s, as well as the most amazing techno that will make you feel as jumping until dawn. For more information visit the following website: http://www.boitelive.es/

Alexa Ray

Get apartments in Madrid and discover the wide range of bars, clubs and concerts that this fabulous city has to offer. Madrid’s nightlife has no end if you really want to have fun.

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Translated by: Hans
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If you like living up to the day and boast about having good taste, be sure to follow these suggestions on vintage shops in Madrid, which offers unimagined wonders to fill your closet and cause the envy of many bystanders and friends. So follow our advice if you come for pleasure or on a business trip to this city.

To begin, Lotta is a cute place where clerks are always willing to provide the best services without disturbing or interfering too much. In this store you can find everything you can imagine from the 50′s to the 80′s and all is in very good condition. The prices are quite affordable up to par with the quality, so you can buy a coat of fine wool or accessories from 45 euros to 10 euros. This store is located in Cortez 9 and is open Monday through Saturday from 11:00 to 20:30, it is only closed for lunch.

If you like brands and spectacular pieces of clothing’s, Vintage Madrid is the store you should visit to feel dressed likea super star.  Everything there has a special sophisticated smell and a haute couture color. There are hats, kimonos, handmade shoes and a huge collection of costumes from the 20′s and 30′s. In addition you can find well priced Armani and Dior garments among others. The value for money aspect is an issue, you just have to take a look good and forget about love at first sight, because it can be expensive.

But if you ask me for  a special recommendation, nothing is  better than to visit the Czech Mona, there everything is super vintage, including the store itself which has a circus tent hanging on the ceiling. Located in the Malasaña neighborhood, this shop has become a must for those looking for good prices and quality. So come and search among fashion of the 50, 60 or 70, the shop is located at Calle Velarde 2.

Delgado Corachán is a classic in vintage clothing. It has authentic pieces of the 20′s, 30′s to the 80′s. Besides an incredible assortment of brand clothes preserved in silk paper to prevent contaminants, dust and moisture that deteriorate fabrics. The place has an air of sophistication and is located in a refurbished old winery, very adequate with the style of that period. While it is very cheap, what matters is the authenticity and the quality brands. The focus is luxury and you can try on the clothes you please without any problems. There is an interesting collection of handbags, hats and accessories that complement any outfit. Its address is St. Paul’s Baja Slide 8.

Finally, there is Vintage Biba, a boutique specializing in sophisticated clothes for men and women from the 20′s to the 80′s, all is top quality brought straight  from France and Britain. There are also antiques, sunglasses, bags and interesting accessories. The address is Calle Velarde 1, local 14.

Nancy Guzman

With all this info you can rent apartments in Madrid and succumb to the temptation of vintage. Then, you know, Madrid has everything for a few days of fun and relaxation.

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Translated by: Marc
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