THE EDITORIAL
It gets dark before six now, and Madrid is at its best for it. The windows light up, the theatres fill, and the city seems to stay out a little later just because it can. This is the week to put a coat on and follow the lights wherever they lead. The city looks its best when it's a little cold and everybody is going somewhere.
We've been through the calendar so you don't have to. Here's what's worth your week.
AT A GLANCE
Worth the ticket: Suma Flamenca's last four nights, from Farruquito on Thursday to Israel Fernández's closing premiere on Sunday.
Worth the last chance: Thomas Houseago's sculptures in a private garden, closing this weekend.
Worth the tradition: the Día de Muertos altars, open all week.
Worth the teatime: a jazz quartet at 17:30 on Halloween.
Worth the date: the Lyceum Club's centenary, Wednesday 4 November.
THE WEEKLY CURATION
FLAMENCO
THE EVENT: Suma Flamenca, the final four nights
WHERE: Teatros del Canal, Sala Roja Concha Velasco, Calle Cea Bermúdez 1
WHEN: Thursday 29 Oct, Farruquito, Sexteto Flamenco, 20:30. Friday 30 Oct, Rocío Molina, Caída del cielo, 20:30. Saturday 31 Oct, Estévez & Paños, Doncellas (Juerga permanente), 20:30. Sunday 1 Nov, Israel Fernández, recital, 19:30
PRICE: Farruquito, Molina and Fernández: 35€ stalls rows 1 to 14, 30€ rows 15 to 18, 25€ balcony rows 1 to 4, 9€ rows 5 to 6. Estévez & Paños: 30€, 25€, 20€ and 9€
Suma Flamenca ends with a recital nobody has heard before
This is the 21st Suma Flamenca, built around the theme Flamencas, with 47 galas and 33 premieres over three weeks, and its last stretch is its strongest. Farruquito brings Sexteto Flamenco to Madrid for the first time on Thursday (70 minutes), a dancer whose work stays close to the compás and the family tradition.
Rocío Molina performs Caída del cielo on Friday (80 minutes). Estévez & Paños bring Doncellas (Juerga permanente) in its Madrid premiere on Saturday. The closing night, Sunday 1 November, is Israel Fernández, one of the most notable voices of his generation, in an absolute premiere: a recital of cante that has not been performed anywhere before.
The Edit Move
If you can only go once, go on Sunday. Festivals save their least-tested work for the last night, and nobody in the room will have heard this recital either.
For who it is
Flamenco followers who want the festival's real send-off, not just a good night somewhere in the middle.
For who it is not
Anyone wanting a safe, familiar programme. A premiere carries more risk and more reward than a repertory piece.
ART
THE EVENT: Thomas Houseago, Esculturas
WHERE: Jardín Banca March, Calle de Castelló 75
WHEN: Closes this weekend. Thursday 29 Oct 19:00 to 23:00, Friday 30 and Saturday 31 Oct 12:00 to 19:00
PRICE: Free, with prior registration on Banca March's website
Seven monumental sculptures in a bank's private garden, the British sculptor's first showing in Spain, with days left
Houseago's work fills the 1,600 square metre garden of Banca March's Madrid headquarters in the Barrio de Salamanca, a space that is normally closed to the public. The pieces, among them Large Walking Figure I and Moon Figure I, are set to talk to the architecture, the vegetation and the light of the garden. The show is part of the bank's centenary programme, so read it as that: the garden and the sculptures are the draw. The audioguide suggests about 50 minutes for the visit.
The Edit Move
Thursday is the late opening, until 23:00, so go at dusk when the garden changes. Register first, you can't just turn up.
For who it is
Anyone who likes sculpture outdoors, off a plinth.
For who it is not
Anyone wary of a bank's anniversary programme. This is one.
THEATRE
THE EVENT: El Brujo, El Lazarillo de Tormes
WHERE: Corral Cervantes, Centro Cultural Casa del Reloj (Nave de Terneras), Paseo de la Chopera 10
WHEN: Thursday 29 October and Sunday 1 November, 20:00. About 1 hour 20 minutes
PRICE: From 15€
A boy survives sixteenth-century Spain on his wits alone, played by one actor
El Lazarillo de Tormes is the picaresque novel about a poor boy and a string of terrible masters, and one of the founding texts of Spanish literature. The veteran actor Rafael Álvarez, known as El Brujo, performs it as a solo piece in Fernando Fernán Gómez's version, under his own direction. He says he chose it because Fernán Gómez captured the soul of this rogue, and presents the story as one about a world where goods are unevenly shared. It's listed for ages 14 and over.
The Edit Move
Pick Thursday or Sunday, there are only two sessions.
For who it is
Anyone who wants Golden Age storytelling with no distance between actor and audience.
For who it is not
Anyone without conversational Spanish. It is a solo performance in Spanish, with no subtitles mentioned.
FASHION
THE EVENT: La moda a tus pies
WHERE: Museo del Traje, Avenida de Juan de Herrera 2
WHEN: Opens Thursday 29 October, runs to 31 January 2027. Tuesday to Saturday 9:30 to 19:00, Sundays 10:00 to 15:00, closed Mondays
PRICE: Museum admission 3€ (1.50€ reduced). Free on Sundays and on Saturdays from 14:00, and always free for under 18s, over 65s and students aged 18 to 25
Forty Spanish footwear companies answer the Museo del Traje's collection, one piece at a time
The show sets pieces from the museum's permanent collection beside shoes made for this exhibition by 40 Spanish footwear companies. Colours, forms, silhouettes, embroideries, materials and techniques from the historic garments are turned into new footwear. It is co-organised with the Spanish footwear industry federation (FICE) and the companies are named, so read it with that in mind. It sits inside the permanent galleries, which is the museum's own collection of Spanish dress from the eighteenth century to now.
The Edit Move
Look at the historic piece first, then find the shoe it inspired. The show works like a game of spotting the link. Go on a Saturday after 14:00 or a Sunday and it costs nothing.
For who it is
Anyone who looks at feet first.
For who it is not
Anyone wary of an industry showcase inside a museum.
DANCE
THE EVENT: Madre Mía, Compañía Sharon Fridman
WHERE: Teatros del Canal, Sala Verde, Calle Cea Bermúdez 1
WHEN: Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, 19:30. 50 minutes
PRICE: 25€ (20€ and 9€ for other seats)
A world premiere of contemporary dance about holding on to each other when the old certainties are gone
Sharon Fridman's new piece is billed as a celebration of shared humanity in a world that seems to have lost its certainties. It deals with love, diversity and parenthood, and its text asks, "Dios, guárdanos de nosotros mismos" (God, keep us from ourselves). It premieres in the Canal's Sala Verde, the same building as Suma Flamenca's closing nights, and there are tickets for both evenings.
The Edit Move
It finishes before 20:30, so you could see this and a Suma Flamenca show on the same evening, but it's tight. Choose one.
For who it is
Anyone who likes contemporary dance and wants to see something new before anyone else.
For who it is not
Anyone wanting flamenco. This is a different thing.
MUSIC
THE EVENT: Gustavo Díaz Quartet, Villanos del Jazz
WHERE: Sala Villanos, Calle de Bernardino Obregón 18, Arganzuela
WHEN: Saturday 31 October, 17:30. Doors at 17:00
PRICE: 16,50 €
A jazz quartet at teatime, on the night everyone else is in a costume
Gustavo Díaz plays saxophone and piano, and composes and arranges. He was born in Toledo, trained in Madrid and lives in Seville, and his career has never settled into one fixed picture: classical and contemporary influences sit side by side in everything he plays. He leads Luis Guerra (piano), Javier Moreno (double bass) and Rodrigo Ballesteros (drums) in a concert that is part of JAZZMADRID26. Minors are allowed with a signed authorisation.
The Edit Move
It starts at 17:30, so you can hear a full set and still have your Halloween night.
For who it is
Anyone who wants a proper gig on Halloween.
For who it is not
Anyone after a Halloween-themed night. It is a normal jazz booking that happens to fall on the date.
ART
THE EVENT: Bene Bergado, Huevos de basura IV
WHERE: El Patio, Infinito Delicias, Calle de Juana Doña 5, Arganzuela
WHEN: Closes Monday 2 November. 10:00 to 00:00
PRICE: Free
A courtyard ceiling hung with eggs made from rubbish, for one last weekend
Bene Bergado trained in Bilbao, has lived in Madrid since 1998, and has had solo shows at the MUSAC in León and the Sala Alcalá 31 in Madrid. This installation is built on reusing waste, and it looks at the environmental impact of daily life and the idea of "sustainable capitalism". It hangs in the courtyard of Infinito Delicias, a former industrial site in Arganzuela that now houses exhibitions, talks, workshops and an urban garden.
The Edit Move
At noon on Saturday 31 October there is a free guided tour of the building's architecture, from 12:00 to 13:00. See the eggs afterwards, once you know the building.
For who it is
Anyone who hasn't been inside Infinito Delicias yet.
For who it is not
Anyone who wants a gallery-style show.
TRADITION
THE EVENT: Día de Muertos altars
WHERE: Fundación Casa de México, Calle de Alberto Aguilera 20, plus altars at CentroCentro, Nave 12 at Matadero and the Real Teatro de Retiro
WHEN: On view until 8 November. At Casa de México, Sunday 1 Nov: self-guided visit 10:00 to 12:45, guided visits 13:00 to 18:30. Monday 2 Nov: self-guided visit 10:00 to 18:45
PRICE: Free
The people who bring your dinner, photographed and taken as seriously as the rest of the collection
Casa de México builds a new immersive altar every year, taking visitors through several floors designed around the journey between the world of the dead and the world of the living, with smell and sound as much as sight. Free guided visits last about twenty minutes, with tickets for the following week released on Fridays at 14:00. Entry to the two exhibitions in the building, one on Mexican abstraction and one on death seen through photogravure, is free too. The city's cultural centres have altars of their own, CentroCentro and Nave 12 at Matadero among them, and the Teatro Fernán Gómez runs family workshops around its altar until 1 November.
The Edit Move
Make Monday 2 November a day of moving between Madrid’s Día de Muertos altars, from Chamberí to Arganzuela, with a stop in La Latina along the way:
Start at Fundación Casa de México, where you can walk straight into its immersive altar, then head to Cocol for Memoria hecha a mano, a tribute by Señoritos Creative Co. to Mexican traditions and the legacy of Spanish artisans. Visitors are invited to bring a photograph of someone they wish to remember and add it to the collective offering.
After lunch, continue to the Invernadero de Arganzuela, where another altar designed by Señoritos Creative Co. celebrates the cultural ties between Mexico and Spain. Then head to Nave 12 at Matadero for a contemporary interpretation of the tradition, before finishing the day at CentroCentro or the Real Teatro de Retiro for one last altar. If you have time, the Santo Mauro and JW Marriott Madrid hotels also have free installations designed by Señoritos Creative Co.
The Route
h 10:00: Fundación Casa de México, Calle de Alberto Aguilera 20. Start with the immersive altar, which takes visitors through the journey between the world of the dead and the world of the living, using scent, sound and visual storytelling. Monday is the easiest day to visit, with self-guided entry from 10:00 to 18:45 and no booking required.
h 11:15: Cocol, Costanilla de San Andrés 18. Head to La Latina for Memoria hecha a mano, running until 5 November. The altar brings together Mexican Día de Muertos traditions and Spanish artisanal heritage, with Galician textiles and pieces from Manuel Rodríguez Calviño’s private collection. Bring a photograph of a loved one to contribute to the tribute.
h 12:00: Lunch in La Latina. Take a break in the neighbourhood before continuing south towards Madrid Río.
h 13:30: Invernadero de Arganzuela, Paseo de la Chopera 10. Visit the altar designed by Señoritos Creative Co.
For who it is
Anyone who wants to see the tradition on its actual date, not just in the lead-up.
For who it is not
Anyone hoping for a guided visit without planning. Those slots go the day they're released.
HISTORY
THE EVENT: The Lyceum Club Femenino turns a hundred
WHERE: Fundación Ortega-Marañón, the former Residencia de Señoritas, Calle de Fortuny 53
WHEN: The centenary is Wednesday 4 November. The exhibition runs to 22 January 2027, Monday to Friday 11:00 to 20:00. Guided visits Mondays 12:00, Wednesdays 17:00 and Fridays 11:00
PRICE: Guided visit 3€
A women's club that opened a hundred years ago this Wednesday, with an exhibition in the building where its generation studied
On 4 November 1926 the Lyceum Club opened at the Casa de las Siete Chimeneas with more than 150 members, among them María de Maeztu, Victoria Kent and Zenobia Camprubí. The exhibition brings together 184 works from 37 lenders, including membership cards, letters and photographs, in the building that housed the Residencia de Señoritas. It has been open since mid-September, but the centenary gives it a date, and the Wednesday guided visit falls on the day itself.
The Edit Move
The Wednesday guided visit is at 17:00, which makes it the one to book on the centenary itself. Afterwards, find the Casa de las Siete Chimeneas on Calle Infantas, where the club first opened.
For who it is
Anyone who thinks Spanish feminism started after 1975.
For who it is not
Anyone who wants objects rather than documents, or who needs weekend opening. It is weekdays only.
ON THE HORIZON
Robert Wilson's last work, PESSOA, Since I've Been Me, plays the Teatros del Canal on 6 and 7 November.
Mi Primer Festival de Cine, a film festival for children aged 3 to 12, runs from 7 to 22 November.
Kenny Barron brings his trio to the Teatro Fernán Gómez on 10 November.
Seen something in Madrid this week that should have made the list? Reply to [email protected] and tell us. We read everything, and the best tips end up here.
The Edit Madrid is an independent weekly curation of the best things to do in the city. No sponsored content. No filler. Just the things worth your time.
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