Madrid will have a floating cabaret concert in El Retiro

There was a time when the cuplé was a leading genre in Madrid and perhaps, deep down, it has never ceased to be so, in view of artistic projects that rescue it, reinvent it and claim it as that of Livianas Provincinas. However, times change and theaters, cafes and lounges are no longer the space –or at least, not the only one– in which this music can be enjoyed.

It will be an enclave as unexpected as the pond of the Palacio de Cristal del Retiro that will become a stage for the free concert Floating Cabaret. Cuplé music, magazine and variety showsa highly original show that will take place on September 16 and 17 in one of the best-known enclaves of the city.

For two days, the boats of the Retiro will change their usual walkers for a group of musicians who will interpret “the best of the repertoire of the cuplé, the magazine, the cafes and the theater of variety shows,” reports the City Council. It will be at the following times:

• Saturday, September 16: between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.
• Sunday, September 17: between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

This floating cabaret show was spontaneously forged in 2010 by the singer Pía Tedesco and the violinist Raúl Márquez and is part of the program that the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports of the Madrid City Council has organized to commemorate the centenary of the death of the architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco.

Program for the centenary of Ricardo Velázquez Bosco

Despite not being very well known, Velázquez Bosco is responsible for having shaped some of the most emblematic buildings in Madrid –at this point a parallel could be drawn with another architect such as Antonio Palacios–. Two examples of this, without leaving the Retiro, are the Palacio de Cristal and the Palacio de Velázquez.

To make his figure known, the City Council has programmed guided tours, interactive family and dramatized tours, concerts, lectures and a photo exhibition about the Burgos architect.

Guided tours and interactive itineraries require prior registration, which can be done from today through this link. On the other hand, the complete program can be consulted on the centenary website.