Madrid: Art, flamenco & beautiful gardens

I love Madrid. The first time I was there in 1997 was a bit of a disappointment, as I had booked my flight from Ibiza to Montevideo with a long stopover in Madrid, so I could see one of my favorite paintings in the whole world, namely, Hieronymus Bosch‘s entrancing The Garden of Earthly delights. Sadly for me, my day in Madrid was a Monday, and any savvy European traveler knows there is a good chance a museum will be closed on Monday, but I was young and inexperienced, so, I remained Bosch-less and Delight-less, but not for long.

DIsappointed about my lack of Bosch, I went and found the Reina Sofia museum, which was fortunately open on Mondays. My most vivid memory is of turning around and discovering the larger-than-life Guernica, by Picasso. Few paintings have made such an impression in my life. Perhaps it was because I was not expecting it, but I was moved to tears by the sheer brutality portrayed in those deformed cattle heads. I also remember a little Dali that reminded me a lot of my other favorite painter Max Ernst, and those two things by themselves made the visit worth the trip.

All I remember from the rest of those first hours I spent in Madrid is having dinner at the Hard rock cafe and rushing through the airport pushing my luggage, and arriving at the gate one minute before my plane left. The Hard rock cafe downtown was really happening, and it was rather fun celebrating my birthday there with some strangers (I had already started celebrating in Ibiza some hours earlier) and watching a cool U2 concert on the Cafe’s big screen TVs.

In 1999, I returned for a film production market, a relaxing stopover in Ibiza and a trip to Gibraltar to research for a screenplay I was writing. This time, I stayed at an NH chain hotel, where the breakfast was to die for, especially the smoked salmon and fresh berries. I discovered those tapas bars where friendly patrons offer you their delights amongst giant hanging hams, as I went bar-hopping with a colorful crowd of European film producers, and I did, finally, see Bosch at the Prado Museum.

Flamenco fusion music by LOS RODRIGUEZ, a band of Spanish and Argentinean musicians,
lead by Andres Calamaro and Ariel Rot.

I was quite hooked on music by Andres Calamaro at the time, and he had also promised to make music for my Gibraltar film, so my ’99 Madrid had a soundtrack by Calamaro all the way. But the more traditional flamenco by Los Chunguitos (below) was also playing in my head. I have a tremendous passion for flamenco and, though I never actually saw flamenco in Madrid (I saw it in Valencia, Ibiza, and largely in Montevideo, where there are some great groups) I find that the city breathes flamenco, and I can feel it in the air. This is a passionate people, just like that heart wrenching music, and that is something Uruguayans like me can totally relate too.

My encounter with Bosch was everything I had expected, except for the fact that the two side panels of the Triptych were being restored (turns out, the Garden is ALWAYS having some part restored, at least whenever I show up…). Don’t ask me why, but those men and women lying inside mussel shells and offering giant strawberries to each other are the most vivid representation of sheer pleasure that I have ever seen in art. My friend, the actress Angela Molina, with whom I had a lovely dinner at her house that time around, told me a story about going on a school visit to Prado Museum when she was about 4 or 5 years old and getting lost among the Bosch-es. She told me the paintings made such an impression on her, that she forgot herself and lost her group for a while. No wonder, surrealist master Luis Buñuel would later cast her in his films. It was through Angela and her lovely family of artists that I became acquainted with the work of her father, flamenco legend Antonio Molina.

One place that I have consistently visited on my trips to Madrid, every couple of years since 1997 is the Retiro gardens. There is an aura from another era in these romantic style gardens, complete with their large tree-lined avenues and beautiful lake. This is a place to get lost, to bring a perfect book with you, to enjoy the Spring sunshine or have a drink at one of the little terraces.

During my later Madrid trips, I discovered the best seafood place in town, the hippest neighborhood and some cool shopping areas, among other great finds, but I will tell you about all that in Madrid II. Stay tuned.

Feature photo by Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez.