From February 14 to 18, Madrid celebrates Carnival 2026, a festival that this year will have as its theme “transformation, play, and collective imagination.” And although the activities and program proposals change each year, there is one peculiar and historic event that remains unchanged over time, putting the finishing touch on the festivities: the burial of the sardine.
This curious tradition, which has been kept alive by the Alegre Cofradía del Entierro de la Sardina (Merry Brotherhood of the Burial of the Sardine), faithfully lives up to its name: it consists of a funeral procession that winds its way through the streets of Madrid to bury a sardine.
However, it is a funeral with its own peculiarities, where there is room not only for solemnity, but also—perhaps above all—for satire and mockery. On this occasion, the curious tradition will take place on February 18, starting at 6 p.m.
Route of the burial of the sardine
Editorial credit: Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
The burial of the sardine starts at the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida for symbolic reasons and as a tribute, since Francisco de Goya was the first honorary member of the association.
From there, the route continues along the Reina Victoria bridge, the Paseo del Comandante Fortea, Calle de Santa Comba, Calle del Doctor Casal, the tunnel leading to the M-30, and ends at the Fuente del Pajarito fountain (in Casa de Campo).
There, as tradition dictates, a bonfire is lit—estimated to take place around 9 p.m.— as a “gesture of purification and rebirth” to bid farewell to winter and “keep the promise of the next carnival alive,” according to the Madrid City Council.