Don’t let the name fool you: Usera is not a neighborhood, it is an archipelago. It is made up of eleven neighborhoods that during the rest of the year live at very different speeds, but between June 18 and 30 are synchronized to the rhythm of their festivities. Almost two weeks of parades, DJs, paellas, popular games, lemonade and names you didn’t know were still alive: hello again, Mägo de Oz.
An agenda designed for families
Councilwoman Sonia Cea has said that the program is “designed so that the neighbors are the protagonists”. Well thought out, it is a way of saying that there is everything here: from volleyball tournaments to concerts with a cover orchestra.
Like any good Madrid event, the festivities will have a hard core and that epicenter will be in the park of Pradolongo. It will be there, between the 26th and the early morning of the 30th, where the fireworks, the “tardeos” and the stellar performances will be concentrated. But before that, the neighborhoods are warming up their engines at their own pace.
Zofío, Almendrales and Orcasitas
- Zofío opens fire on the 18th with a performance by the group Castañuelas at the Centro de Mayores. The weekend (21-23) will be more lively: DJs until midnight, foam party, tortilla contests and a community dinner.
- Almendrales kicks off on Friday 20 in the Campo de Criptana square with bouncy castles and a concert by Golden Sax. The weekend moves to the Evangelios sports field with neighborhood demonstrations, orchestra(De Fábula, in case you wanted to know) and more foam on Sunday.
- In Orcasitas, volleyball championship, percussion workshop, Women’s Association choir and a concert with Maestro Hora. On Sunday, foam and paella in the square of the Association.
Pradolongo: the great center of gravity
This is where the names are uncovered. From Thursday 26, with the opening speech by Fernando Ramos -sports promoter and local symbol- until the early hours of Monday 30, Pradolongo becomes the great center of gravity.
- Thursday 26th
- Popular lemonade (21:00 h)
- Proclamation (21:30 h)
- Dance with the orchestra Montecristo (22:00 h)
- Fire and light show at the lake (24:00 h)
- Friday 27th
- Children’s workshops and traditional games (19:00 h)
- DJ set (20:00 h)
- XUsera activities (21:00 h)
- Concert by Mägo de Oz (22:30 h) + DJ César Novero
- Saturday 28th
- Minidisco with DJ (11:30 h)
- Afternoon with workshops, music and XUsera (from 19:00 h)
- Concert by Pol 3.14 (22:30 h) + DJ Artur Men
- Sunday 29th
- Foam party + children’s musical group (12:00 h)
- Popular Paella (14:00 h)
- Decai Concert (22:00 h)
- Fireworks (00:00 h)
- DJ Marlen, and in the early hours of Monday 30