This year, Seville’sfamous April Fair is coming to Madrid. The event, under the name Madridlucía, will fill the Villaverde district with booths, music, and traditional Andalusian decorations throughout the month of May.
Initially, the macro-fair was scheduled to begin on May 9 and end on June 7, but it willultimately be delayed until May 20 so as not to coincide with the celebrations of San Isidro, the city’s patron saint, to whom the 15th of the same month is dedicated .
In addition, the number of booths will be reduced by half, from 200 to 100, and its duration will be limited to two weeks, as reported by the Madridlucía organization to the Madrid City Council.
200,000 m² of fairground
Stalls and flamenco shows. | Editorial credit: Shutterstock and Madridlucía
The fair will be located in Villaverde, at the Iberdrola Music Madrid venue, which covers a total of 200,000 square meters and has already hosted other festivals such as Mad Cool. It can be reached by car or public transport, stopping at Villaverde Alto (metro and suburban train) or San Cristóbal Industrial (suburban train).
Although Madridlucía has reduced the number of its booths, as explained on its website, it will also have a cultural area that will host exhibitions dedicated to Andalusian tradition and another dedicated to gastronomy. Here, visitors will be able to try all kinds of tapas such as fried fish, salmorejo, montaditos, tortillitas, and ham, among others.
Of course, there will also be horse shows in the equestrian area and flamencoperformances in the music area. And for the little ones , there will be all kinds of attractions, traditional games, and carousels.
A controversial event
Amusement area. | Editorial credit: Madridlucía
The Madridlucía proposal has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks, and several institutional figures have spoken out about the event. María Reyes Maroto, councilor and spokesperson for the PSOE in the Madrid City Council, has criticized the trivialization of the Seville fair, expressing her rejection of the project, as reported by Europa Press.
However, the greatest concerns come from Sara Hernández, the mayor of Getafe, as her municipality is very close to the Madridlucía site. She believes that it could have negative effects on mobility and traffic and also coincides with the dates of the Getafe patron saint festivities.