The Fiestas de San Isidro, the Spanish capital’s most beloved and authentic festival, kicks off in Madrid on 3 May

Madrid will host the Spanish capital’s most popular and authentic festival, Fiestas de San Isidro. It will begin on 3 May and end on 15 May — the day of Saint San Isidro Labrador, the city’s patron saint.

St Isidore was born in Madrid, supposedly in 1079. He is credited with performing more than four hundred miracles, including a resurrection from the dead. St Isidore was also believed to have a special ability to find water. 

The fiesta programme is available on its official website and includes a huge number of free events. Parades of giants and big heads, concerts, DJ sets, magic, juggling and clowning shows, theatre performances, traditional chotis dancing in the streets, exhibitions and fairs with master classes are planned. The Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Madrid and Ballet Flamenco de Granada, the Madrid Dance Festival, fireworks and much more are also expected. 

The main event locations are: 

• San Isidro Park (Pradera de San Isidro);
• Madrid’s central square, Plaza Mayor;
• Las Vistillas Gardens;
• Matadero Madrid cultural and entertainment complex.

Some of the events will also take place in urban areas, theatres and municipal centres. Don’t miss tasting Madrid’s cuisine at Antón Martín, Chamberí, Puerta Bonita and Mercado de la Cebada markets. Be sure to try rosquillas — doughnuts of different types and shapes. And refresh yourself with limonada, a drink made with wine, lemons, sugar and sliced fruit. 

Festa di San Isidro religious highlights:

• 6 May — mass in the chapel of San Isidro, located on the site where the patron saint of Madrid was born and raised.
• 12 May — consecration of the miraculous San Isidro fountain, from which it is customary to drink water during the fiesta. According to legend, the fountain is fed by a spring that began to gush from the ground at the wish of St Isidore.
• 15 May — open-air mass at the Ermita de San Isidro chapel.
• 15 May — Eucharist at the Capilla de la Cuadra de San Isidro.
• From 10 to 15 May — masses at the San Isidro Collegiate Church, whose main altar houses the saint’s incorrupt body. On the last day of the fiesta, at 19:00, a traditional procession with images of San Isidro and his wife Santa Maria de la Cabeza starts from here. 

During the Festa di San Isidro you will encounter chulapas and chulapos everywhere, dressed in traditional festive costumes. The women wear tight-fitting long dresses with flower or polka-dot patterns, colourful aprons and fringed shawls. Chulapas gather their hair in a bundle and wear a white scarf tied under the chin. The hairstyle is decorated with two carnations, usually white or red. And men’s costume includes a cap, a white shirt and a waistcoat with a carnation on the lapel. Tourists can rent chulapas and chulapos outfits.  

During the Fiestas de San Isidro you can also attend the most prestigious international bullfighting event, the Feria de San Isidro 2024. It will take place from 10 May to 16 June in Madrid at the Plaza Monumental de Las Ventas.

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Photo from madridiario.es