Madrid-Uno Diary
¡Hola! ¿Qué Tal? Adventures and discoveries in the capital of Spain.
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Log #166. Photo Exhibition in Retiro
Photo exhibition on one of the main avenues through Retiro Park, central Madrid.
Log #165. Campeones
Spain won the Football EuroCup 2008 last night and Madrid welcomed their heroes home this evening, lining the streets all the way from Barajas airport to Plaza Colon, where a crowd of well over 100,000 people went completely loco as skipper Castillas presented the trophy.
Substitute goalie Pepe Reina proved to be the joker of the squad, leading the assembled throng in a series of songs and chants and winding the spectators up into even more delirium.
Last night the streets of central Madrid were a sea of red and yellow, cars honking their horns, people banging drums and dancing in all available fountains. Joy unconfined. Your correspondent finally went to bed at 2.30am when he suddenly realised he wasn’t actually Spanish and had work in the morning. But it was an empty office he turned up to at 9.00am - and people only drifted in at around 10 to 11 o’clock. Very happy people, of course, but all looking a bit green about the gills. I shudder to think how much beer must have been consumed in the city last night.
Congratulations Spain. A well deserved championship since they were clearly the class act of the whole tourney. ¡Viva España!
Log #164. Sand Sculpture in Retiro
A sand sculpture artist prepares his work for an upcoming exhibition and competition in Retiro Park, Madrid.
Log #163. Current Movistar TV Advertisement
This TV ad, which is running nationally - not just in Madrid - has become cult in the 'so bad it's brilliant' way. It was used last summer as well but Movistar have re-issued it in line with an identical promotion for summer 2008.
El anuncio del verano con subtitulos para que nadie se pierda nada de la letra y pueda hacer KARAOKE a toda horas
Trans. The advert of the summer with subtitles, so that no-one should miss the words and be able to use them when doing Karaoke at all hours.
It's based on an original funky toooon by Pino D’Angio, called: "Ma Quale Idea"
Log #162. Panic In The Streets
The locals are going bonkers.
News from the carreteras about the lorry drivers strike, combined with a collapse in the property market and freakish weather (storms and regular downpours in June) that has affected agriculture resulting in poor crop forecasts, has led to panic buying of food and petrol (gas).
Yesterday we had some scenes of car drivers queuing round the block to fill up their tanks and frenetic action in some of the larger supermarkets, as old ladies with long memories stocked up in preparation for anarchy / civil war / revolution / not having enough jamon for the weekend (take your pick). This is the first time in my 2+ years in the city that I have seen the population generally worried, with long faces and hunched shoulders.
Even the bulls at the San Isidro bullfighting festival haven’t been performing well.
Hopefully, the national football team (’la seleccion’) will perform well tonight in the European Cup. If not, I fully expect half the city to commit suicide, judging by the office chat and depressing pervasive atmosphere.
Madrid, and the whole country indeed, have been on a ten year roll, with nearly full employment and impressive GNP growth, so it’s all come as something of a shock to the system. And since the EU development grant taps have been turned off they don’t have the Germans to support them either. What will they do? Stay tuned for further updates. Oh, and Dad, can you send a food parcel please? The old ladies have even bought out all the Heinz Baked Beans that were stocked at my local Caprabo supermarket.
Log #161. El Junco
So, it's a Tuesday, it's midnight, but you want to carry on drinking and listen to some good music. What are your options? Well, in Madrid, there are lots. This city specialises in late night music bars, late night fun and late night assignations. It's a late night / early morning kinda place.
One of Madrid-Uno's favourite spots for mid-week partying is El Junco, a jazz bar and long-standing refuge for the the night birds of Malasaña. It's open every night from 11.00pm to 6.00am and will usually have a live band on until about 3.00am (modern jazz or blues plus pick-up sessions) followed by the resident DJs (mixing jazz with funky house and classic soul). At weekends it's usually DJ only and tends toward the more soul music side of things (think James Brown / Rose Royce).
Located on the corner of Plaza Santa Bárbara (Metro: Alonso Martínez) its position makes it ideal for those wandering back from the town centre or those heading into it, and so on Friday and Saturday nights it's usually rammed - with a long queue to get in if you arrive any later than midnight. But for, say, a Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday it's usually OK.
This particular night was a classic example of how it works: Madrid-Uno arrives at midnight and walks straight in, grabbing the last remaining spot at the bar and ordering a whisky-coke. Half an hour later is in deep conversation with a couple of lovely ladies who are 'gastronomic journalists' (nice work if you can get it) and the place is slowly filling up. By 2.00am it's virtually full, the three-piece band for the night are now joined on stage by some of their jazz friends (including an excellent saxophonist) and our group has grown into about eight people - four Spanish, a Puerto Rican with one of those rings people put through their nose, a Frenchie, a completely plastered Austrian who is clearly on a mission to obliterate himself, and M1. A couple of hours flash by, more drinks, the DJ takes over from the band. Some people are slipping out for a few breaths of fresh air (and others to toke) but there's no-one on the door so no issues with tickets or anything. By 6.00am, chucking out time, the place is still 3/4 full and some of my new compadres are heading off to shower up and get ready for work. Austrian chap has collapsed in the flower bed outside. Puerto Rican nose-ring babe is snogging the DJ, and M1 gets a ride on the back of a moped all the way back to his pad from an acquaintance of the journalists - even though he's only met me for a couple of hours. Complete lunacy for a school-night but so typical of this city.
This is definitely a recommended place, but I would avoid it for a Friday or Saturday night simply because it gets so completely full. There have been rumours that they water the drinks down but in my experience this has never been the case. I usually go for Dewars White Label and, whilst I'm no expert, I know my brand and what I get served at El Junco is definitely authentic.
El Junco - jazz, blues, friendly, funky, but liable to make work the next morning a difficult place to be.
Looking for more recommended nightclubs in Madrid? Or you can check out some of M1's favourite bars and clubs.
Log #160. The Scavengers
Unlike Nu-Labour Britain, where our taxes have been pissed up the wall by our economically illiterate prime minister, Spain still has regular rubbish (trash) collections. Indeed, in my part of Madrid (Salamanca barrio) we have collections virtually every day.
The garbagemen do their rounds at around midnight, every night except odd Saturdays and public holidays. They also have sweeper-uppers who come round in the summer, and both of these are followed by a gang who wash the streets down - necessary because of the red dust that would otherwise coat every building, car and object in the street. But we also have another group of rubbish men: The Scavengers.
Every night, the official cleaners are preceded by groups of horny handed sons of the earth (i.e. gyppos) and their trucks, who scour the bins and tips for anything that can be re-used, sold as scrap or otherwise recycled. They take all sorts of stuff, especially anything metal, wood or plastic, but also paper, cardboard and any food that is still in its packaging (out of date or not). And they're organised too: one truck will concentrate on, say, wood and metals, followed by a plastics specialist, then the paper / cardboard gang, and finally the food and scraps boys. By the time the official teams arrive almost half of the trash has already gone. This is, of course, totally illegal and breaks every hygiene rule in the EU book. But everyone turns a blind eye as it is efficient and it saves a trip to the dump for anyone wanting to get rid of a broken fridge, an old mattress etc. The Scavengers are careful with their trucks, make sure they don't block the roads, try to avoid leaving a mess (mostly) and they're quiet. And above all they're hurting nobody (except possibly themselves - I hope they have a proper shower when they’re done).
Log #159. MMT Estudiantes Save Themselves
Switched on the TV tonight and saw big celebrations going on following the end of a basketball match.
I'm not a big fan of Basketball. It's not a game we get much exposure to in the UK so its subtleties are beyond me. But it's an important game in Spain and the country is the reigning World Champions. No, really. Better than the Yanks even. Who'd a thunk it?
Anyway, cause for celebrations? The 'historic' Madrid team MMT Estudiantes had saved themselves from relegation in the final match of the ABC league season, thus securing their proud record of being an ever present since the league’s formation back in 1955. It is one of only three such clubs, together with Real Madrid and Joventut.
MMT fans, known as the Demencia, are well known for being quite batty. The club was originally formed from a well known school (The Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu) on Serrano, near to Republica Argentina, and the hard-core of support emanate from there. And being young student types they have a lot of energy so do a lot of shouting. Balloons and streamers are used assiduously. They bounce up and down in the stands. It's also a 'sympathetically' popular team - Madrileños in general have a soft spot for them - particularly as they're classic underdogs, never winning anything (bar a few minor domestic cups) but being league runners-up four times (most recently 2003/04).
For tonight's crucial game (I should point out I had no idea about any of this crucialness until I was filled in by a mate) the demented ones had travelled in impressive numbers to Leon to support their team so the arena was about a quarter full of blue-shirted aficionadios willing their heroes on. Well, it worked. And we will see the Estudiantes in the Premier League next season. If you fancy attending a match, probably best to buy ear mufflers.
Log #158. Franco Rigged Eurovision Song Contest
According to a TV documentary shown tonight, called “1968. I lived through the Spanish May” and aired on La Sexta, the Eurovision Song Contest of 1968 was rigged by the Fascist regime of Francisco Franco to ensure the Spanish entry won. The Spanish singer Massiel triumphed with the creatively titled song ‘La, la, la’, by only one point, beating UK legend Cliff Richard, who was singing his (now) classic ‘Congratulations’.
Director Montse Fernandez Vila has claimed that RTE executives toured Europe offering cash and promising to buy television series and contract unknown artists from other Eurovision member states to influence the vote. At that time the winner of the competition was decided by a jury comprised of 10 members from each of the 17 countries participating with each member awarding one point to their favourite song. ”There is evidence that votes were bought to secure a win for Massiel,” said the director. ”The regime was acutely aware of the need to improve their image… Looking back at the parties that were organised and the way Massiel was turned into a national hero - it seems a bit excessive for a song festival but it all served to glorify the regime,” she said.
No need to rig this year’s soon upcoming contest though. After last year’s debacle, when the Spanish thought they had winner and were cruelly denied by colluding newly arrived Eastern European nations who all voted for each other, they’ve gone ironic. For 2008 their entry is called ‘Chikichiki’ - a comedy, samba rap complete with crap-but-easy-to-learn dance. Even if Chikichiki gets nul points in the competition it’s bound to be a summer hit. So consider yourself warned if you’re holidaying on the playas this season.
This is a certain sign that the country has grown up after its fascist interlude and joined the top table of cynical, self-knowing western democracies. No more rigging pointless competitions, now they just take the piss. Or ‘toma el pelo’ as they say.
Log #157. 2nd of May in Madrid
Log #156. Spot The Kitteh
Picture taken at the Estanque by the lake in Retiro Park, Madrid.