THE EDITORIAL
Holy Week clears the city and fills the centre. The same streets that feel too narrow in February open up this week on the sides but close overhead: incense smoke, the low register of drums, the specific silences between cornets. This is the version of Madrid that the city does not market, because it cannot. It is too slow, too strange, too liturgical for a highlights reel.
Two things happen at exactly the same time on Friday night. On Calle de Alcalá, a flamenco singer named José el Berenjeno steps onto a balcony at roughly 21:50 and sings a saeta to the Jesús de Medinaceli procession passing below. Four kilometres north-west, Rosalía opens her third consecutive night at Movistar Arena with a London Symphony Orchestra recording. Both events sold out months ago. Both are, in their own way, entirely about devotion.
Read the full edition below.
AT A GLANCE
Best booking: Rosalía, Lux Tour, Movistar Arena, 1, 3 and 4 April, 20:30 h
Best neighbourhood drift: Barrio de las Letras, Thursday evening, Medinaceli procession at 19:00 h
Best with kids: Tren de la Fresa, Estación Delicias, 3, 4 and 5 April, departs 10:00 h
Best design hit: Dalí Infinito, Palacio de Gaviria, Calle Arenal 9
One thing to skip: The Puerta del Sol grandstands on Viernes Santo: You will be in a row of 500 chairs watching a street you walk every day. Stand on Calle Alcalá instead.
THE WEEKLY CURATION
SEMANA SANTA
THE EVENT: Procesión de Jesús de Medinaceli
WHERE: Barrio de las Letras, Centro
WHEN: Wednesday 1 April, departs 19:00 h
Procesión de Jesús de Medinaceli
One of the largest Holy Week processions in the city, departing from the Basílica de Jesús de Medinaceli in Barrio de las Letras and winding through the Puerta del Sol, up Calle Alcalá, and back. At approximately 21:50, José el Berenjeno sings a live saeta from a balcony at Calle de Alcalá 16. There is no ticket, no booking, no seat. You just stand there.
The Edit Move
Take the Medinaceli exit from Antón Martín and walk towards the Basílica by 18:30. Watch the departure, then cut north via Calle del Príncipe to reach Calle Alcalá before the procession. The saeta at 21:50 is the moment. Stand on the pavement side, not the grandstand side.
For who it is
For the person who wants to understand why Madrid is not Barcelona, and why that matters.
For who it is not
For anyone expecting the painted spectacle of Sevilla. This is Castilian and austere.
MUSIC
THE EVENT: Rosalía, Lux Tour
WHERE: Movistar Arena Madrid
WHEN: 1, 3 and 4 April, 20:30 h (doors 18:30)
PRICE: 45–115 euros + booking fee (secondary market only)
Rosalía, Lux Tour
Four nights, all sold out since December. The third and fourth dates (Viernes Santo and Sábado Santo) are still circulating on the secondary market. Rosalía's fourth album, Lux, was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra under Icelandic conductor Daníel Bjarnason and features Björk, Estrella Morente, and Silvia Pérez Cruz. The production is reported to be on a scale she has not attempted before.
The Edit Move
The last chance to see the 4 April show is the one to chase: Sábado Santo night, the city half-empty, a cathedral-scale album performed the night before Easter Sunday. If the secondary market is your only option, buy early in the week. Avoid the Calle Goya parking: walk from Goya Metro instead.
For who it is
For the person who can justify the secondary market price on the basis that some concerts genuinely belong to the historical record of the city.
For who it is not
For anyone who dismissed Motomami as novelty and has not listened to Lux yet. Catch up first.
EXHIBITION
THE EVENT: Dalí Infinito
WHERE: Centro, Calle Arenal 9
WHEN: Permanent, daily 10:00–20:00 h (last entry 19:00)
PRICE: 15 euros / 11 euros reduced
BOOK: palaciogaviria.com
Dalí Infinito
The Palacio de Gaviria, a 19th-century palazzo steps from the Puerta del Sol, has reopened after restoration with a permanent exhibition of Dalí's late sculptures. Fourteen bronze pieces from the Colección Clot, cast using the lost-wax method between 1973 and 1983, are among the least-seen works in his output. Elefante cósmico, Cristo de San Juan de la Cruz, Alma del Quijote: large-scale, strange, and placed in gilded rooms that the curator says would have pleased him greatly.
The Edit Move
Go mid-week, not at the weekend. The building is genuinely beautiful and the rooms are not enormous. The Divina Commedia graphic series on the upper floor repays close attention. Forty minutes is enough.
For who it is
For the person who knows Dalí the painter well and wants the rest of the sentence.
For who it is not
For anyone expecting a retrospective. This is sculpture only, and it is a specific, focused argument about a decade most people have not looked at.
TORRIJAS
THE EVENT: Ruta Dulces Pasiones
WHERE: City-wide, over 50 participating establishments
WHEN: Until 5 April
PRICE: Varies by item, from approx. 2 euros
MAP: Full map at esmadrid.com
Ruta Dulces Pasiones
Over 50 pastelerías and bakeries across the city are participating in the official Semana Santa sweet route, which runs until 5 April. The thing to eat is the torrija: pan empapado en leche con canela, frito, espolvoreado con azúcar. Not French toast. Different physics. Also: soldaditos de Pavía (battered salt cod strips), pestiños with honey, and artisan Easter eggs in the better bakeries.
The Edit Move
The Horno de San Onofre on Calle San Onofre 3 (Malasaña) and La Duquesita on Fernando VI 2 (Alonso Martínez) are worth the detour. Buy a torrija at one place, a bartolillo at another. This is a walk, not a sit-down.
For who it is
For the person who wants to eat what Madrid actually eats this week, rather than what the week looks like on a screen.
For who it is not
For anyone planning a single-destination lunch. This works best assembled in pieces across an afternoon.
FAMILY | Tren de la Fresa [BOOK NOW]
FAMILY
THE EVENT: Tren de la Fresa
WHERE: Delicias to Aranjuez
WHEN: 3, 4 and 5 April, departs 10:00 h
PRICE: From 30 euros adults / 23 euros children (1–1.40m) |
BOOK: trendelafresa.es
Tren de la Fresa
The Strawberry Train has been running the Madrid-Aranjuez line since 1984 in 1920s wooden carriages. This week runs on 3, 4 and 5 April, departing the Museo del Ferrocarril at Estación Delicias at 10:00 h and arriving in Aranjuez at 11:00. Aranjuez is a UNESCO Paisaje Cultural with formal gardens, a Royal Palace, a river, and famously, the strawberries the train is named for.
The Edit Move
Book the Fresas Reales route for the Palacio Real visit. Children under one metre travel free but must not occupy a seat. Arrive by 9:15: the access control closes at 9:50 and they will not wait. The return from Aranjuez is at 18:36, arriving Delicias at 19:30.
For who it is
For families with children old enough to sit still on a train and curious enough to ask questions about where strawberries come from.
For who it is not
For toddlers expecting a theme park. Aranjuez is formal and quiet. This is a day of slow wonder, not slides.
EXHIBITION
THE EVENT: El Prado de Noche
WHERE: Museo del Prado
WHEN: 4 April, 20:30–23:30 h (last entry 23:00)
PRICE: Free
BOOK: No booking required. Entry by Puerta de Jerónimos, first come first served.
El Prado de Noche
The first Saturday of every month, the Prado opens at 20:30 and closes at 23:30. Free, no advance ticket, entry by aforo until full. This edition falls on Sábado Santo, 4 April. The special exhibition El Prado Multiplicado: la fotografía como memoria compartida, the first monographic show the museum has ever dedicated to photography, closes the following day. This is the last chance to see it, in the dark, at no cost.
The Edit Move
Arrive at 20:30 sharp. The photography exhibition is on the ground floor of Villanueva; go there first while it is quiet. The permanent collection thins out after 21:30. If you have the Rosalía ticket, do not do both on the same night. Choose.
For who it is
For the person who has been to the Prado a dozen times in daylight and wants to know what it costs in the dark. Nothing.
For who it is not
For a first-time Prado visit. This is a nocturnal supplement, not an introduction.
THEATRE
THE EVENT: La vida extraordinaria
WHERE: Almagro, Calle de Cea Bermúdez 1
WHEN: Until 19 April, check specific dates at teatroscanal.com
PRICE: From 9 euros
BOOK: teatroscanal.com
La vida extraordinaria, Teatros del Canal
Directed by Malena Alterio and Carmen Ruiz, La vida extraordinaria runs at Teatros del Canal until 19 April. This is new Spanish theatre work that is not a classical adaptation and not a musical. Teatros del Canal is in Almagro, north of the Paseo del Arte triangle, in a building worth seeing for itself.
The Edit Move
Evening performances mid-week are the easiest for tickets. Teatros del Canal has a bar worth arriving early for. The Almagro area from Canal Metro to Paseo de la Castellana is one of the better evening walks in the city.
For who it is
For the person who goes to the theatre in Madrid and wants something that is not Benavente, not a musical revival, and not already sold to a group booking.
For who it is not
For anyone looking for a light night out. This is a proper theatrical work. Bring attention.
Forward this to one person who would get it immediately. Just one.
The Edit Madrid Written by four people who live here properly. Every Thursday from Madrid. Questions or tips: [email protected]
ABOUT THE EDIT MADRID
The EDIT Madrid is a weekly cultural briefing for the observer, not the tourist. We cut through the noise and publish what genuinely earns your time: independent places, deep culture, and lived-in Madrid knowledge.
Written by four people who live here properly.
