As every year, March 19 is dedicated to honoring fathers. Coinciding with the Christian tradition of St. Joseph’s Day, this date is set aside on the calendar for fathers.
However, not all autonomous communities include it among their holidays. In the case of Madrid, it will be mandatory to go to work, with the exception of the town of Pinto, which decided to include it among its local holidays.
A holiday with a chocolate flavor
At the October 2025 Regular Plenary Session, the Pinto City Council approved two nationally and regionally significant holidays as local holidays. The first is the one celebrated this very week: Father’s Day, while the second is a tribute to San Isidro, the patron saint of Madrid, whose feast day is commemorated on May 15.
Not going to work next Thursday, March 19, will allow residents of the municipality to enjoy time with their families and a day with a difference. In addition, the City Council has launched the Ombligos de Pinto campaign, a dessert typical of the city.
Various bakeries will offer this traditional chocolate-based sweet for sale, in reference to the industry that Pinto pioneered in the 19th century. In fact, the name itself, “Ombligo de Pinto,” also speaks to how the town is a geographical center of the Iberian Peninsula.
A town without traffic lights
Pinto is located 23 kilometers south of the capital and is unique not only for being the only town in Madrid that includes Father’s Day among its holidays. It is also unique for having more than 55,000 residents and not a single traffic light— a surprising fact given the traffic.
This has not always been the case, as in 1979, like the rest of Spain, the town implemented traffic lights as part of its signage. It was in December 2006 when the Department of Urban Mobility decided to remove them, as it considered them unnecessary for driving.
Beyond this curiosity, just as March 19 will be a holiday in Pinto, it will also be a holiday in five other autonomous communities in Spain that have included it in their holiday calendars: Galicia, Murcia, Navarre, the Basque Country, and the Valencian Community.