La tamborrada drum parade

Adding the finishing touches to Easter in Madrid, the Royal and Illustrious Congregation of Our Lady of Soledad y Desamparo organises a drum parade in collaboration with Madrid City Council on Easter Sunday (20 April 2025).

Like every year, the classic drum parade, or tamborrada, marks the prelude to the end of our journey through the churches and stations of the Passion. Music leaves the place of worship and is spread though the capital with the help of a parade of fifty drummers, making the old city walls its interiors rumble.

Whether you're from Aragon or La Mancha, the Basque Country or Teruel—the Calanda drum parade from Teruel has been declared Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO—the catharsis that is the roll of barrels, drums, bass drums and timpani is mighty. Joy produces a feeling of belonging and community, which is sealed by the energy of the procession musicians.

Following tradition, the parade starts at Carboneras Monastery in Plaza del Conde de Miranda and runs along Plaza de la Villa until it reaches Plaza Mayor, where the thunderclap of the musicians breaks the last silence.