All Saints’ Day: Buñuelos

Probably what Madrilenians love the most about the holiday of All Saints’ Day is related to the pleasure of gastronomy. Or is there a holiday that doesn’t have a traditional food for that day? In All Saints’ Day, there are two kind of sweets that are present in every Madrilenian family: huesos de santo and buñuelos. As last year, we already talked about huesos de santo, now it’s time to let you know what buñuelos are.

Buñuelos are a kind of sweet fritters born in Spain, probably to Sephardic Jew or Arab origins, back in the Middle Ages, although nowadays they are spread through many more countries around the world in different varieties. They consist of a wheat-based yeast dough, shaped as a ball and then fried. In Spain, they are filled with sweet fillings, such as cream or chocolate.

Although, depending on the region, they are typical from different holidays and are made in different ways, in Madrid we eat buñuelos de viento on All Saints’ Day, together with the huesos de santo. Madrilenians love their gastronomic traditions, and buñuelos are certainly one of the most delicious traditions that we may find here!

Sting

The British musician, ex leader of The Police, is coming to Madrid during his European tour, Symphonicity, together with the Royal Philarmonic Concert Orchestra, which has helped him rearrange his greatest hits. With over 20 instruments on the stage, classics such as Englishman in New York, Fields of Gold and Desert Rose reach a new dimension. Tonight at 9.30 pm, at the Palacio de los Deportes.

Modern Landscapes

Early 20th century: roaring engines, electric lights and department stores changed the looks of the city forever. The collection of Reina Sofía Museum shows how artists depicted the new urban landscape.

The Big Apple

New York, Montevideo or Madrid. The Big Apple or Gran Vía. It doesn’t matter, during the 20th century, cities started looking more and more alike. Both Rafael Barradas, when painting Atocha Railway Station, and Torres García, when painting New York, see the same thing, what makes them universal: chaos.

In order to achieve their purpose, both artists fragment the image into numerous facets, but while Barradas’ strokes are are vibrant – he called his style vibrationism – , Torres García encloses the city in an orthogonal and rigid frame. Both of them were Uruguayan and lived in Spain, they were friends and they were in contact with avant-garde art.

Risks

The culture of the speed is born in the crazy ’20s. The youth loved sport, cinema, cars and jazz. A life of excitement that could end up in tragedy. After having an accident in Guadarrama Mountains, Alfonso Ponce de León painted this morbid self-portrait where he represents his own death. Although the topic is unsettling and daring, pure avant-garde, the style stems from avant-garde tradition.

Inside and outside

Cities were transformed inside and outside. The suburbs gave rise to industrial areas, although The Sleeping Factory by Daniel Vázquez Díaz seems to have been always there: clouds are an echo of the mountains, and mountains are an echo of roofs. In the curve of a river in a valley of the Basque Country, nature reflects the geometric volumes of the building. Experts refer to a toned-down cubism.

There were also changes in the city centres. In the avenues, shop windows were home for the first time to mannequins, which modelled the trendiest fashion. Although Surrealists and Dadaists would be fascinated by them in the ’20s, José Gutiérrez Solana is already interested in them in 1910. Mannequins came to life through his eyes.

Suzanne Vega

Don’t forget to get tickets for the charity concert of Suzanne Vega. You will help fight against breast cancer. It’s tonight in the Skyline Hall of the Hard Rock Café, at 10 pm.

Recycled Buildings

They were built as factories, churches or palaces, and now they are museums, theatres or cultural centres. In order to move with the times, many buildings in the city have changed their function. Their walls are history and their hearts are the future.

Matadero Madrid

Intermediae, Naves del Español and Central del Diseño have two things in common: they bet for experimentation and they share the same home, the former slaughterhouse of Madrid. On the banks of River Manzanares, this complex of brick, masonry and ceramics halls, former underbelly of the city, has turned into the skin of the youngest culture. New technologies, contemporary theatre and the latest in design are the basic concepts of its programme.

Casa Árabe

In the late 19th century, very few schools had their own gym, museum and observatory. Inaugurated in 1886 thanks to philantropist Lúcas Aguirre y Juárez, who donated part of his fortune to furthering education, it’s one of the most outstanding examples of the Neomudejar style, a style that recovers the decorative elements of the Spanish-Muslim tradition. Nowadays, this is one of the best places to learn the language of Arab countries and their culture.

El Águila Complex

If we peek into the former El Águila Brewery, we will find many people reading. Nowadays, a newspaper and media library occupy the space that onces stored the barley. The silos have become book deposits and the ice cream parlour is now the main entrance to this important cultural centre that houses conferences and exhibitions. The building, a wonderful example of industrial architecture, has been transformed by Mansilla+Tuñón into the Regional Library and Archives.

Canal de Isabel II Exhibition Hall

In 1900, the city had grown to the north and many of the new buildings had more than five floors, which made tap water lose its pressure. The solution was building an elevated reservoir. In the 80s, after losing its original function, this fabulous tower was transformed into an outstading exhibition hall. It offer interesting photography exhibitions within the entrails of the old hydraulic facility.

Pious Schools Library

Throughout their long history, the Pious Schools of San Fernando, founded by the Piarists in 1729, have undergone at least two transformations. First, after being looted during the Civil War, it became a cinema. Later, since 2001, it has been housing a series of UNED university facilities. Including the library, located among the ruins of the Baroque church, like a diamond in the rough. The romantic atmosphere of its remains have been preserved and represent an interesting contrast to the new materials.

Teatro de la Abadía

An altar can be used as a stage. The former Church of the Sagrada Familia, converted into the Teatro de la Abadía, has one of the most daring programmes of the Madrilenian theatre scene. As long as they have a strong personality, both medieval drama and contemporary international productions have a place here. Besides, it has a centre for theatre arts which offers professional workshops, conferences and churches.

Vinçon

The former Espuñes factory is nowadays the Vinçon shop of Madrid. In the 1920s storehouse for silverhouse, there is now a selection of furniture, toys, accesories and home decor. Vinçon, which has turned into one of the most unique shops of Salamanca Quarter, was awarded with the National Design Prize in 1995 “for its contribution to promoting design culture and being an internationally recognised reference”.

Teatriz

We replace the dressing room for the kitchen and the stalls for a dining room. Delicious tapas and the most contemporary menu are prepared backstage. The curtain is lifted and we find ourselves in a stage designed by Philippe Starck. The former Infanta Beatriz Theatre, where Federico García Lorca premiered his play Blood Wedding in 1933, was transformed 20 years ago into the first “designer” restaurant in the city.

ABC Serrano

The building that, up to 1089, was the headquarters of Prensa Española, publishing company of Blanco y Negro magazine and ABC newspaper, is nowadays one of the most fashionable shopping centres in Madrid. Its elegants façades – from 1898 and 1926 – , with an interesting ceramics work, hide the offices and printing plants that now are home to shops and restaurants, completing the offer of Salamanca Quarter.

Vitra

“A roaring automobile racing over the wind is is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace”, said Marinetti in 1909. After visiting Vitra in 2010, we could say that a lamp by Isamu Noguchi or a stool by Frank Gehry are more beautiful than any motor vehicle. A former art decó garage has been turned into the Madrilenian showroom of this furniture company, whose catalogue boasts prestigious brands such as Verner Panton and Jean Prouvé.

Madrid Restaurant Week

Following the example of New York, Rio de Janeiro, London or Lisbon, Madrid is hosting once again its Restaurant Week. An initiative through which some of the best restaurants in the world offer in each country and for some days a special menu at a fixed and affordable price (25 €). This year, for the first time, some participant restaurants are those of the Gastronomy Walk of Casa de Campo, which are joining established restaurants such as Europa Decó, Dassa Bassa, Lágrimas Negras and La Broche. Besides, 1 € from each menu will go to charity. From October 22nd to November 1st.

Estampa 2010

Estampa is hosting its 18th edition as a consolidated fair and a clear European referent in edition and contemporary art. Once again, it includes the section Temptations that aims to give voice to emergent works and to support current visual artists that develop their art through investigation. From October 20th to 24th, in IFEMA.

Mario Vargas Llosa, About Madrid

The latest Nobel in Literature Award laureate, Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, who lived in Madrid for some time and considers this city to be his home, talks about the Spanish capital in the following interview.

The Westin Palace

This legendary luxury hotel is over 100 years old. Don’t miss the chance to have dinner under the famous dome of its dining room.

Wonderland

The latest choreography by Víctor Ullate for the Region of Madrid Ballet gets inside the complex human mind. Master Ullate takes us into a psychiatric ward to show us, with the sensitivity of dance, the life of its residents. From October 21st t0 31st, in Teatros del Canal.