MADRID DESTINO

VERANOS DE LA VILLA July and August see all the most important genres of performance arts come together in Madrid for Veranos de la Villa, one of the highlights of the city's cultural calendar. This year, the festival will incorporate a new venue, Puente del Rey, where both Madrilenians and visitors can enjoy dance, flamenco, zarzuela and musical theatre. Puente del Rey is an open-air venue in the Madrid Río Park, close to the entrance to the Casa de Campo Park, situated between the Vargas Palace and the Huerta de la Partida Garden.  Another of the festival's impressive venues is the Teatro Circo Price, which will host over twenty shows, hosting performers such as Marlango, Dulce Pontes, Chucho Valdés and Patricia Sosa, Dúo Dinámico, Rosario, Pablo Milanés, Fekat Circus & Slum Drummers, and many more. But that's not all: the annual Veranos de la Villa concert in the Plaza Mayor, FESCINAL, an open air cinema at the Bombilla Park, and Tiritilandia in El Retiro Park finish off the programme for this year's festival.  More info   Frinje Madrid 2015 For the fourth year running, Frinje Madrid returns to the capital with top-class performances, ready to delight spectators with new artistic experiences from innovative artists. Poetry, clowns, dance, circus arts and risqué drama are interspersed with workshops and talks given by the most renowned figures in the field. The event, organized by Teatro Español, will take place in Matadero Madrid from the 3rd to the 25th of July with site-specific performances that includes more than fifty shows from thirty different countries. More info Gay Pride Festival Madrid's Gay Pride Festival takes place from the 1st to the 5th of July, a joyful demonstration of the city's open, tolerant, cosmopolitan and diverse character. The Chueca district will be the epicentre of the festival, with events also taking place at Plaza de Callao and Plaza de Santa María Soledad Torres Acosta. Gay Pride Festival events include theatre, projections, exhibitions, musical performances and, of course, the traditional parade leaving from Atocha station and ending at Plaza de Colón. More info     Activities for kids at the Zoo Aquarium and Faunia Summertime in Madrid brings plenty of interesting ways for the little ones to enjoy animals and nature. The Zoo Aquarium is organising “Much more Zoo” (from 16th July to 15th August) a special route around the various enclosures that ends with a spectacular night-time dolphin show. Faunia will be organising (from 16th July to 15th August) educational talks on dinosaurs and other activities such as the “Touch, Touch” where children can discover interesting facts about mammals and reptiles. Both centres will also be running summer camps for children between 3 and 14 years old. More info Summertime cinema Two of Madrid's leading cultural centres, CentroCentro Cibeles and the Conde Duque Cultural Centre, are launching varied summer cinema programmes. From the 1st of July until the 3rd of September the Glass Galley at Cibeles Palace will screen cinema classics, cult films and recent favourites alongside exhibitions, a restaurant and bar, music and special events. The Conde Duque Cultural Centre will host The Urban Beach Cinema from the 10th of July to the 12th of September. This is an outdoor space with an open-air cinema showing new releases and musicals, two large urban beaches, food trucks, flea markets and terraces. More info     August “Fiestas” The first two weeks of August see Madrid celebrating three of its most beloved festivals. The San Cayetano, San Lorenzo and La Paloma verbenas, or local festivities, will be held in neighbouring districts. Areas of the city like Plaza de Cascorro, Lavapiés, Calle Argumosa, Plaza de la Paja, Calle Toledo and Plaza de las Vistillas will play host to different cultural activities and entertainment, processions, tapas routes, and games and competitions for the kids. More info esMADRIDmagazine Madrid's free monthly magazine provides suggestions and tips on how to get the most out of Madrid's cultural programme throughout July and August. esMADRIDmagazine includes a 12-page report on the must-see events of Veranos de Villa Festival, what not to miss at Gay Pride and the highlights of PHotoEspaña, which this year has been extended until the 30th of August. Other suggestions include the Vogue: Like a Painting exhibition at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, the Illustra Tour event in Matadero Madrid and the Universal Music Festival at Teatro Real. More info