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San Lorenzo brings the street festival and neighbourhood life back to Lavapiés
The San Lorenzo festivities will once again change the rhythm of Lavapiés from 8 to 11 August. For four days, concerts, popular activities and religious celebrations will fill the streets of a neighbourhood that experiences these dates as one of the most recognisable moments of the Madrid summer.
Arturo Barea Square will be the main venue for the programme and will host much of the night-time music. Residents and visitors will be able to move between performances, DJ sets and neighbourhood gatherings in an atmosphere that combines traditional Madrid character with more contemporary offerings.
Saturday the 8th will begin with the Water Battle at 18:00, one of the programme’s most refreshing and participatory events. At 21:00, the tribute act La Penúltima Sabinera will take the stage, while DJ Paulo will extend the night until two in the morning.
Sunday the 9th will combine zarzuela and rock. Women’s zarzuela will open the musical programme and Los Vinagres by Vibra Mahou will then take the stage, before the closing set by DJ José del Rey.
Monday the 10th’s celebration will have a more traditional character, with Mass scheduled at 19:00 at the church of San Lorenzo and the procession an hour later. The night will continue in Arturo Barea with a concert by Metroolé and a DJ Madent set.
Calle del Olivar will also join in with a community lemonade from 21:30. These kinds of gatherings preserve the neighbourhood element of festivities that are understood not only through the stages, but also through the pavements, shops and street-level conversations.
On Tuesday the 11th, Manuel de Segura will bring traditional Madrid copla to the square before the performance by the group Lotus. DJ Pakito will provide the final musical stretch of festivities that will extend neighbourhood activity well into the early hours for four nights.
The scene turns Lavapiés into a large open street party, with the church of San Lorenzo, Arturo Barea Square and the nearby streets connected by music. Among balconies, terraces and full squares, the neighbourhood recovers one of those summers when Madrid seems best experienced on foot.