Comics, illustrations and an "Illustrated Concert" arrive at the Veranos de la Villa

The Veranos de la Villa, in its 37th edition, organizes three events related to illustration and comics. This leisure and culture festival organized by the Madrid City Council takes place during the months of July and August.

Firstly, the Paseo de Recoletos hosts the open-air exhibition "Do you paint or draw? A walk through art through comics", until August 24. This event is organized by Acción Cultura Española. There you can enjoy the work of eleven of the most important comic authors in our country with comic strips and fragments of their albums and with a look that also analyzes the different areas connected to the artistic field, from fairs, museums, curators, critics and the public itself. Artists such as Laura Pérez Vernetti and Antonio Altarriba, among many others, are present in this project.

The second event, "Here they come... from Sweden with new comics", is held at the CentroCentro (Plaza de Cibeles, 1A) until August 29. It is a representative sample of the comic created by authors from Sweden who have had great importance in the last decade, such as Nina Hemingsson. In turn, these Swedish artists give voice to the feminist movement, discuss gender equality, challenge social norms, reflect criticism of society, challenge patriarchy and taboos or sexuality.

Also highlight the third and last event of the Veranos de la Villa: the "Illustrated Concert" that will be offered on August 22 at the Conde Duque Cultural Center, located at Calle del Conde Duque, 11. This show addresses the creation process pictorial by the illustrator María Hesse accompanied by Tulsa, the Spanish musical group formed and led by Miren Iza, which defines itself as "a mixture of verse and color, words and strokes to seek a unique and intimate experience".

Finally, mention Lara Lars for being the creator of the festival poster, a true collage with the art of illustration.

For more information, go to this web page.

“Directed by Women Spain” arrives in September, audiovisual productions by women filmmakers

At the return of summer, the VII edition of “Directed by Women Spain” is celebrated for the seventh consecutive year, a selection of short films that can be enjoyed from September 7 to 12 at the Cineteca de Madrid, located in Plaza de Legazpi , 8. It is the international festival of cinema directed by women.

A film meeting and a unique opportunity not only to discover the work of 35 filmmakers from the national film scene, but also to hear their voices in the talks that will be held after each session. Likewise, it consists of a program lasting six days to see sessions of short films of all cinematographic genres, a meeting of cinematographic critics in collaboration with the ECAM (School of Cinematography and Audiovisual of the Community of Madrid), a projection on unpublished documentaries and lastly, the screening of Pilar Palomero's debut feature, the film “Las Niñas”, winner of four Goya Awards.

In addition, it is a reflection of the current technical and thematic diversity that appears in the audiovisual production of women filmmakers and the approach to viewers, are reflected in "Directed by Women Spain" one more year, despite the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

In this event you can enjoy five interesting short films: “Five minutes” (2020) by Génesis Lance Valverde, “Roberto” (2020), the debut feature by Carmen Córdoba; “Impossible to say goodbye” (2021) by Yolanda Centeno, “Bustarenga” (2019) by Ana María Gomes and “Polvorón” (2021) by Abril Zamora).

In September you cannot miss the Cineteca de Madrid, the international film festival directed by women! 

For more information on the exhibition, can be accessed by this websites.

"I Get Off at the next. 150 years of the first tram in Madrid”, a documentary and photographic exhibition of its history

"I Get Off at the next. 150 years of the first tram in Madrid” is a journey through history through 150 works that can be enjoyed until September 26. This exhibition is held at the Regional Library of the Community of Madrid "Joaquín Leguina" (calle de Ramírez de Pardo, 3) and recalls the inaugural date of the first tram line in this city, on May 31, 1871, which circulated from the Salamanca district to the Pozas district.

This exhibit has three main sections. In the first place, the first section focuses on the development and its origins during a century, showing the evolution of the lines and the history of the companies, providing documents such as guides, plans, opinions and photographs, you can see the types of traction (animal , steam and electric). Through this documentation, the urban evolution of the city and its territorial extension can be visualized and visitors will learn more about   the construction of the train-tramway for the Arturo Soria Linear City bypass. Also, highlight the bus, the first means of collective transport in Madrid.

Similarly, in the second section the socio-historical aspects are analyzed during the 100 years that the tram worked. A democratized means of transport and also essential for the lives of citizens. In this section it is worth mentioning the photographer Santos Yubero with his photographic works reflecting the people of Madrid queuing to wait for the arrival of the tram, how famous and unknown people traveled inside it, how bullfighting deals were closed in it...

The tour of this exhibition ends with the presence of artistic manifestations that range from literature to cinema, traveling through painting and photography. In addition, there are references to various literary genres and authors such as Benito Pérez Galdós and Emilia Pardo Bazán who have mentioned this means of transport in some of their works. It should be noted that the tram has also been the protagonist in Spanish cinema of the time in the film “Se ven un tram” by Juan Esterlich, from 1959.

To conclude, this exhibition aims to show us through visual documents, mostly photographs, the history of the tram in Madrid over time, its importance as the first means of public transport on the streets, its relevance within the life of the city as well as the leading role of the tram in certain historical moments and in Madrid's cultural events.

For more information see this websites.