The emblematic cultural space in southern Madrid is preparing for summer with a varied program. This weekend, from June 19th to 21st, the Plaza Matadero will host the DEMM 26 festival, a celebration of European Music Day featuring prominent national indie, pop, and electronic artists.
The opening day, Friday, June 19th, will feature Maria Arnal presenting her first solo album, accompanied by a strong audiovisual component. On the same day, contemporary flamenco artist Ángeles Toledano, the jazz and folk duo of trombonist Rita Payés and pianist Lucía Fumero, and DJ Gazzi will perform. Tickets for Friday are priced at 5 euros.
On Saturday, June 20th, with tickets already sold out, the lineup is headlined by pablopablo, considered a recent pop revelation in Spain; Alizzz, a composer for renowned artists; Depresión Sonora, with their blend of dark pop and post-punk; and DJ Akazie.
Music will also be available for younger audiences. In the Sala de Columnas of the Central de Diseño, also with sold-out tickets, morning concerts will take place: La Fantástica Banda on Saturday the 20th and Le Parody on Sunday, June 21st.
Starting Thursday, July 2nd, Plaza Matadero will transform into an open-air cinema until July 26th. Titled ‘Superestrellas 3’, this ninth edition will combine film screenings with live musical performances and commented sessions by well-known cultural figures.
Two special cine-concerts are featured: the first on Thursday, July 2nd, with Christina Rosenvinge, who will create a specific performance connecting her musical career with cinema; and the second on Thursday, July 16th, with the electropop duo Hidrogenesse. Tickets for these events cost 10 euros.
Additionally, three special sessions will include live commented film screenings. On Sunday, July 5th, director and screenwriter Nacho Vigalondo will host a surprise session. On Thursday, July 9th, the Linterna series will present a special edition hosted by actor Brays Efe and Miguel Agnes. On Thursday, July 23rd, journalist Alberto Rey will comment on The Witches of Eastwick. These three sessions are priced at 5 euros.
The series will screen eleven titles across three genres: queer musical cinema, with special guest artist Marc Ferrer; 60s yeyé cinema; and 70s blaxploitation, a film movement advocating for African American representation. Screenings, in original version with Spanish subtitles, will start at 10:15 PM with tickets costing 3.50 euros. Tickets for CinePlaza are available at cinetecamadrid.com and at the box office.
Accompanying the musical and film programming, photographer Jesús Ugalde is exhibiting ‘Nada espontáneo. Una mirada a los 90’ on the facade of Nave 15. The exhibition features 22 photographs from the 1990s, taken while Ugalde worked for major record labels like Sony, Warner, and Universal.
Selected images include the recording of Los Rodríguez's album Sin documentos, the first photoshoot for La Oreja de Van Gogh when they were an unknown group, and portraits of Alejandro Sanz just before the release of Más. The exhibition also includes portraits of film figures such as Antonio Banderas and Oscar-winning director Fernando Trueba. A previously unseen photograph of Carmen Maura receiving the famous gazpacho bath in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, with Pedro Almodóvar directing, is a unique highlight. The exhibition is free and viewable from the plaza.
