August in Madrid

Friday 1^st of August. “Hmm, that’s strange,” I think as I wonder past the empty spot close to my work where normally an army of five free-newspaper-handout-people try to attack me with their nonsense filled tabloids, “where are those flies?” As I arrive at my office I realize: it is the first of August, Madrid is on holiday. I asked around and my suspicion is confirmed. A colleague of mine informs me that she read the day before in the newspaper Metro that they would shut down for the entire month ‘due to holidays’! A newspaper! Shut down! For a whole month! Due to holidays! That’s just great.

There is an odd end-of-term (or actually, post-end-of-term..euh therefore holiday) feeling in the city at the moment which is apparently totally normal for Madrid in august. It actually reminds me of when I was a child (oh no, here we go again) during the final days of my primary school, when we had to return to school to rehearse the final play although all classes had already been suspended for summer holidays. The grand school building was empty and those of us who weren’t very clever (and therefore had only a very small part to play – I for example had exactly two lines to rehearse) would spend their time running through the empty halls and playing football in the corridors. The physical structure of the school was there, but the educational authority and control had gone.

This is more or less the sensation of walking through Madrid during August. Again it is the less fortunate who have to stay in the city as over 50% of Madrid have gone on holidays – most taking the A3 to the closest beach in Valencia.

So, what about the rest of us? What can we do in the capital whilst all shopkeepers, hairdressers and all other businesses are ‘cerrado por vacaciones’? I – for instance – would like to return to that childhood feeling and run up and down Gran Vía, doing roly-polies and playing football with the ten other people who have decided to stay. Nobody would object and it certainly seems possible.

However, other little details make the stay in Madrid not so bad. Street parties have crept up out of nowhere to entertain us. Outside bars have been put up overnight and terraces are to be found on every street corner occupying the parking spaces left empty by the beach-goers. Whole streets have been decorated with flags, lights and other paper-based ornaments. It seems that as the mayor too has gone on holiday the people decide – secretly, behind his back – to throw one massive street party. Nobody is going to tell them to shut up.

These street parties have – of course – a religious ring to it too. As Madrid celebrates two saints during this period – San Cayetano (7^th of August) and Santa Paloma (15^th of August) – the brave remaining people have decided to make the entire week a party. As I said – nobody is here to object.