Veranos de la Villa 2018

75 events will be held in 36 venues across the city during this two-month-long festival, which this year will be honouring Madrid’s first democratically elected mayor, Enrique Tierno Galván.

It's all about the music

The first concert in July will be by Señor Coconut, a German musician and composer who is mad about 1950s and 1960s Latin music and who will perform in Plaza Matadero at Matadero Madrid on 3 July. Two days later in Juan Carlos I Park he will transform into Atom^TM, the name he uses when he unleashes his more experimental side. The festival will also devote some time to electronic music, on the night of 27 July, when there will be a total lunar eclipse. Madrid musician Pional will be responsible for the soundtrack.

On 11 July Plaza Mayor will turn into a stage for El imperio del exotismo, a large concert devoted to Russian choral music that will be given by the Spanish National Choir, which will perform pieces such as Stravinsky’s Firebird. On 25 July, at an event that will also feature classical music, Debussy’s Preludes and Falla’s Love, the Magician will be the main pieces in a recital by pianist Javier Perianes in the outdoor auditorium in El Paraíso Park. On 8 August Terry Riley, another great pianist and a prominent figure in minimalist music, will perform with his son, guitarist and composer Gyan, at the bandstand in El Retiro Park.

Classic but contemporary music will fill the auditorium in the Linear Park of the Manzanares River on 12 July, with a performance by Icelandic composer and multi-instrumentalist Ólafur Arnalds. There will also be outdoor music in the Lower Gardens of Puente de Segovia bridge, but in this case, it will be combined with poetry, a mix made possible by the voices of Jhana, Javier Galleog Crudo & Seward and Ghostpoet (18 July). Another original event is the audiovisual concert that will be held by Six Pianos + Big Sun on 24 July in Plaza Matadero, which will feature sounds as well as images.

On 1 August the Torre Arias estate will host Algo Inesperado, an event that will combine birdsong with the sounds of a band’s electric guitars. We won’t reveal the band's name, because it’s a surprise, and the main thing is to get out and enjoy nature in a different way. Vivir en videoclip. Tú, yo, ‘nosotris’ y un Karaoke #1 is the project that Anto Rodríguez will present on 3 August in Huerta del Obispo Park and on 16 August in the Marta Rodríguez Tarduchy amphitheatre. And thanks to Madrid Suena, we’ll be able to listen to club music at the swimming pools in Vicente del Bosque Sports Centre, in the morning, and El Norte Park, in the afternoon (4 August).

Veranos de la Villa will also devote part of its programme to traditional music, with Coetus, an Iberian percussion orchestra that will perform on 5 August at Villa de Vallecas Municipal Auditorium, and Maria Arnal i Marcel Bagés, who will revisit the oral tradition of the Iberian Peninsula with original compositions (18 August in the outdoor auditorium of the Linear Park of the Manzanares River). Jazz will also have a place, with a concert by Gogo Penguin. The trio from Manchester will perform on 17 August in the outdoor auditorium in La Cuña Verde de O’Donnell Park. Here’s a suggestion for people who love to party: Dancing in the Street on 25 August in the large open space opposite the Royal Palace, in Calle Bailén. Legendary Madrid band Alcatraz ‘La Orquesta’ will be in charge of the music.

And flamenco

Like in previous years, Veranos de la Villa will have a heavy focus on flamenco. This year the genre will kick off at the festival with a tribute to flamenco singer Bambino, who got entire generations dancing to the beat of rumbas and bulerías. Por Bambino, sigue la fiesta is the name of the show that will be held on 1 July in the central courtyard of Conde Duque Cultural Centre, directed by Diego Guerrero and featuring the participation of Bambino's niece Maui as well as Martirio, Raúl Rodríguez, Pedro El Granaíno, Miguel Campello, Makarines and Fernando Soto.

4 July will feature a performance by singer Alba Molina, who returns to flamenco accompanied by the guitar of Joselito Acedo (in the outdoor auditorium in Forestal de Entrevías Park), and on the 6^th, guitarist and composer Gerardo Núñez, who many view as the heir to Paco de Lucía, will perform with the Madrid Municipal Symphonic Band once again in the Pilar García Peña outdoor auditorium. They will be accompanied by Antonio Carbonell (singing), by Ángel Sánchez, aka Cepillo (on percussion), and by a special guest, flamenco dancer Carmen Cortés.

And dance and performance art

Naves Matadero will also join in the festival with a programme that will have a heavy focus on contemporary dance. On 6 and 7 July French-Austrian director, choreographer, playwright and visual artist Gisèle Vienne will present Crowd, a slow motion, tableau-style stage production that will introduce us to 15 young people at a rave under the intoxicating effects of the music. On the same stage, from 14 to 21 July Uruguayan choreographer and visual artist Tamara Cubas will present the three pieces that comprise her Trilogía Antropofágica (Permanecer, Resistir, Avasallar). From 19 to 21 July Akram Khan, an English choreographer and dancer of Bangladeshi descent, will be at Teatro Circo Price with Until the Lions, which revisits the Mahabharata, an epic Indian poem.

On 21 and 22 July Yoann Bourgeois will be at the observation point at the Temple of Debod to perform the piece Fugue / Trampoline, an eight-minute long re-encounter with the agility and poetics of self-surrender. On 28 July Cerro de los Locos (in Dehesa de la Villa Park) will host a site-specific creation by Orquestina de Pigmeos which is fittingly entitled El cerro de los locos. The performance art piece will have elements of theatre, film and music.

And circus, zarzuela and sport

As usual, Veranos de la Villa will hold its traditional Veladas de Circo evening circus performances. The first will be on 22 July in Agustín Rodríguez Sahagún Park and will feature the troupes Amer i Àfrica and Erva Daninha. The second will be on 19 August in Forestal de Valdebernardo Park, with the troupes Larumbe and Faltan7, and the third will be on 26 August in Emperatriz María de Austria Park, featuring the troupes Lanördika and Cirque Exalté.

A host of other things will be happening during the festival, such as a production of the zarzuela Alma de dios, a lyrical sainete that audiences can watch on 2 August in the auditorium in Berlín Park, and Cooking and Market Night, when chefs Abraham García, Rebeca Fernández and Javi Estévez will prepare various dishes in the area around Vallehermoso Market (8 July).

There will also be sporting activities that make the most of the summer. Among them are the Block Party on 29 July in the outdoor auditorium in La Peseta Park, which will combine BMX bikes with contemporary music, and the urban skating event, which will include a roller disco. Participants will set out from the junction of Calle General Álvarez de Castro and Calle de Viriato (24 August). On the days before this event (22 and 23 August), Palomeras Municipal Sports Centre will host Dragón, descansa en el lecho marino, a choreographed synchronised swimming show. Is that all? No way! There will also be drawing sessions, public art, civic engagement projects and more. The action never stops in Madrid in summer.