It is said, it is rumored, it is whispered in the gossip circles of the Internet that 2026 is the year of the return to analog—the physical, the face-to-face, the tangible versus the virtual—and, as if confirming this hunch, on February 19, La Realidad Club (Calle de Echegaray, 11) is opening a music venue in the heart of Madrid to stand up to gentrification with a new place of cultural resistance that it has christened La Juntada.
These two words perfectly capture the essence that Kevin Castellano and Edu Hirschfed, the ideologues behind this initiative as well as film directors and musicians, want to imprint on this open mic format, which is inspired by those that once served “as a breeding ground for the best singer-songwriters and poets of recent years,“ they point out.
The master of ceremonies for these meetings, which will be held every two months, will be Argentine musician Maximiliano Calvo: “We want to recover that folklore, have a meeting place, leave the digital world behind and seek out some sensitive dreamers in La Realidad, as in the Madrid of yesteryear,” he says.
Each of these events will begin with a talk in which “important figures from the cultural scene” will discuss music, film, literature, or the arts, after which Calvo will introduce the participants and guests, as well as perform a couple of songs from his repertoire.
Once the atmosphere has warmed up, anyone who wants to participate can take to the stage to present their songs and texts in a simple set of guitar or piano and vocals, designed so that “the songs shine in their simplicity, in the style of the gatherings where Joaquín Sabina and Javier Krahe forged their careers.”
What will the opening of La Juntada be like?
As we said, this format will be inaugurated on Thursday, February 19: the gathering will take place between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. and admission is free until capacity is reached. For this first musical evening, the initial talk will be given by Martín P. Corral, who will record the podcast live for MondoSonoro.
On the other hand, the lineup of special guests will include musicians Luichi Boy (Cupido), Chica Sobresalto, and poets Rodrigo Marina and Carolina Treboada.