Tomorrow Saturday, at 12 noon on the iconic Perrault Bridge in Madrid Río Park, the Madrid Carnival programme kicks off with a big parade, concerts and DJ sessions.
The presence of the Tarasca, created by the set designer Andrea D’Odorico for Miguel Narros’ Fiesta barroca (1992), recovers the artistic and cultural heritage of the city. The traditional carnival parade returns after two years of absence and will be the main feature of the full cultural and free programme organised by the Madrid City Council’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sport to celebrate the festivities.
Under the artistic direction of the Yllana theatre company, the great Carnival parade -in which tightrope walkers, giant ladies, swordsmen, stilt walkers, skaters, jugglers, folkloric associations and more than a hundred artists will take part- will go from there to the Explanada Negra, where the stage will be set up for the traditional proclamation by the Madrid performer Fernando Gil.
The multiculturalism of the city will also be reflected in this great parade with the involvement of 11 cultural associations from countries such as Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Chile. The costumes they will be wearing will be closely linked and rooted in their folklore and culture, ranging from colourful to traditional, while the parade participants belonging to the mythological world of statues will be dressed in white, with touches of gold, in the image and likeness of the mythological gods and demigods.
Much more realistic will be the costumes provided by the Teatro Español for the characters of Hapsburg Madrid that will flood the parade. Period costumes, with very heavy and luxurious fabrics, which will be combined for the occasion with the usual humour of the Yllana company. Finally, in the Madrid of the Movida, the outlandish and the animal print will share space with leather and the wig, in the style of the cutrelux invented by Paco Clavel at that time. For more information and a complete programme, click here.
