Posts Tagged ‘parades’

City Hall in Madrid to Contribute 500,000 Euros to LGBT Tourism Next Year

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

As I stated a couple of days ago, one of Madrid’s great failings, in my mind, has been its failure to promote itself as an LGBT destination.  Many claim that it is because of political and ideological reasons.  The City and the Community (province) of Madrid are fairly conservative politically, and the Popular Party holds the strings of power.  But Madrid should take advantage of its opportunity.  It is perfectly designed to be one of the best destinations in the world.  The night life, the Chueca neighborhood, and its general festive atmosphere make it a great place year round, but especially during the Pride Festival. 

El Pais reports on the week say that most hotels in the Centro are filled and that many are reporting that up to 80% of the visitors are gay.  As the paper says, it may be that the city has finally seen the “vein” of cash.  So in next year’s budget will be some 500,000 euros set aside to promote LGBT tourism.  Here is part of the story in Spanish:

Muchos se quejan de que la Comunidad y el Ayuntamiento nunca han promovido estas fiestas ni el turismo gay por razones ideológicas. Pero debe ser que los políticos madrileños han visto el filón, porque este año Comunidad y Ayuntamiento ambos han firmado un acuerdo de colaboración para que el año que viene haya medio millón de euros de dinero público con el fin de promocionar este tipo de turismo. El presupuesto con el que contaba este año la Asociación de Empresas y Profesionales para Gays y Lesbianas de Madrid, la encargada de este cometido, era solo de 30.000 euros.

También los organismos han colaborado en hacer un hueco a esta asociación en las ferias de turismo de numerosas capitales mundiales, aunque la promoción todavía debe mejorar. Casi todos los extranjeros con los que ha hablado este diario, como Patrick y Allen, una pareja de tortolitos checos, conocen el evento a través de páginas no oficiales de la Red, o a través de amigos, como en el caso de Luc Van Dam, un holandés cuyo ex novio español le mantenía siempre informado.

 

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Posted in Bars, Copas, Dance Clubs, neighborhoods, night life, special events | 2 Comments »

Everyone is Gay in Madrid This Weekend

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

tour-infinita-2009Madrid’s Gay Pride weekend is well underway following last night’s grand opening.  The opening night festivities were held at 4 different stages in plazas surrounding the general Chueca neighborhood area (the gayest neighborhood in Europe).  The craziest and most crowded part of the festival was the main stage in Plaza Chueca.  You simply couldn’t move.  I was lucky enough to get back stage and have a little breathing room from the crowd, but what a fun time everyone seemed to be having!  I’ve been on main stages in different sorts of festivals before, but what was amazing here was that the crowd actually listened to the speakers and participated with the music, dancing, and general craziness.  Madrid really knows how to throw a party.  One of my ongoing complaints about the city government is what a terrible job they doing letting people know about what a great LGBT destination Madrid is.  

Later we went to Plaza del Rey for the cultural festival portion of the festivities (this is where I finally got to practice my Spanish in front of an audience).  There was a much smaller crowd and a really pleasant atmosphere.  Afterwards, we had dinner with LGBT activists and leaders from around the country at the very nice Jardin restaurant.  

Tonight, the party continues.  The Madonna-directed documentary will be premiering for the first time in Spain and tomorrow comes Mr Gay Spain.  I have back stage passes for both events, so I’ll let you know how it goes.  

There is so much going on all week in the Chueca and surrounding area that you really should check out the official site, or the city’s official information page, available in English.  Find out about the high heel race, the month-long cultural festival, and the chill out planned in the Parque de Buen Retiro.  And if you like diva pop, you should check out Kyle Minogue at Ventas, the bullring not far from the very center of the city.  

Gay or straight, this is all stuff you should not miss as a tourist in Madrid.  It can be argued that Madrid puts on one of the best of these sorts of celebrations anywhere in the world.  Even the National Geographic couldn’t miss the wonder that is Pride Madrid:

It boasts Western Europe’s largest Royal Palace and its most audacious gay pride parade

The amazing this is that it is all done without any money from the city or provincial governments for a relatively small amount of money, around 300,000 euros.  

The big day will be Saturday of course, for the parade and festival.  I’ve not had a chance to spend much time with my friends, but I do hope to get to be with them to watch the parade.  I hope you will be joining us.

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Posted in Bars, Copas, Dance Clubs, neighborhoods, night life, special events, surprises | 2 Comments »

Gay Pride Week in Spain

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

I returned from San Francisco a couple of days ago.  I had a wonderful time with friends (really, they are my family) and loved seeing the city.  I also got to do a little bit of work for this fabulous company I work for that is going to change the world.  It was looking festive and beautiful for Gay Pride Week.  I missed the parade becuase I had to get back here for some work.  But I ran smack dab into another Pride Festival.  You can read about Gay Pride in Madrid in this New York Times article.  The Madrileños do know how to party.

It felt strange being in SF again, like I had never left and like I had been away for years.  I´ve only been gone less than a year, so I suppose that is not a strange feeling, but Madrid does feel like home right now.  Who knows, if my visa is not renewed, I may be back in a few months anyway!

I came back to Madrid to see my friend Stuart Milk, who, as most of you know, is the nephew of Harvey Milk.  Stuart was swinging back to the US after opening gay pride in Istanbul.  Apparently the city had brought out the riot police and street tanks to stop the parade, but it was finally allowed to continue.  Congrats to Stuart on his courage and leadership.  Stuart is being slammed with interview requests from all over Madrid and Europe, so we have done almost no touring, but I am glad I was able to hook him up with the media here.  It´s very important that the message that Harvey carried continues today.

If you can read Spanish, here is the link to the El Pais story on Stuart.  Tonight he will be receiving the Muestra T award and I will be giving my first gay rights speech in Spanish (very short).  I am so used to doing speeches and television, but in another language, it will be interesting to see how it feels.  Barcelona and the rest of the country had their parties last weekend, but Madrid is this week.  It is one of the biggest in the world, with more than 1,000,000 participants (compared to 60,000 in Barcelona).  If you don´t think of Madrid as an LGBT tourist spot, you really should.

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Posted in Bars, Copas, Dance Clubs, expat, living in Spain, neighborhoods, night life, shopping, special events | No Comments »

The three kings

Monday, January 5th, 2009

In the US, it often seems there is never an end to the winter holiday season. Beginning with Thanksgiving, if not Halloween, the US is in holiday (and shopping) mode for months at a time. Today in Spain is an event we don´t see in the US.

Today is the Procession of the the Three Kings (Cabalgata de los Reyes Magos) in Madrid and throughout Spain. About a half a million people will turn out to watch the parade, full of carriages carrying candy for the kids.

There is a normal route for the parade, but you should always check ahead to see if city construction projects have changed the route.

It´s a fun tradition to watch, especially when you have children in tow.

It´s also, of course, another opportunity to shop in Madrid.  There are great sales going on and the kids usually get some more gifts for the day.  Right now is a great time to shop in Madrid, because the economy has brought good deals on almost everything.  The crowds around Corte Inglés and other shops in Central Madrid will be packed, but could well be worth it.

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