Jun 6, 2009

A Little Bollywood in Barrio Lavapies

The festivities kicked into gear yesterday for BollyMadrid, the 2nd weekend festival of Bollywood and Indian Culture in Madrid. And where better to host these celebrations than in the multiethnic barrio of Lavapies. 
There are markets in Plaza de la Corrala:


There are food stalls in selling all sorts of Indian goodies in Plaza de Agustin Lara and Plaza Lavapies. I recommend the food market in Plaza Lavapies because it's much bigger, has a lot more sellers and from what I tasted, the food is of better quality. Each item is 1€ so you can sample all sorts of sweet and savory Indian tidbits.
And for entertainment, there are dancing ladies and other performances in Plaza de Agustin Lara. This is also where they show bollywood films at 10 pm.


All these photos were taken by me at BollyMadrid yestersday. The only unfortunate thing is the weekend forecast for rainy weather. It could really put a damper on what would otherwise be a lively and colorful fiesta. But rain or sun, I'm definitely heading out to the plaza for some samosas!

2 comments:

Te said...

Oh, I didn´t even hear about this! It looks like lots of fun. I haven´t ventured to Lavapiés yet; when people talk about it I get the impression I should pack some item for self defense...

Shehani said...

It was a lot of tasty fun. There's always so much happening in the city, it's tough to hear about everything, let alone attend all.

Lavapies gets bad press because it's home to most of Madrid's immigrants and there's a brisk trade in hash and pick pocketing, but it's also the most vibrant and interesting of Madrid's barrios. I've been living in Lavapies for 3 years and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in Madrid. People who poo poo it and exaggerate its dangerous aspects probably haven't set foot here and so speak out of their asses. Of course you need to keep an eye on your valuables but that's true for all parts of Madrid. Almost all my friends live here and we all LOVE the barrio.

Come down, wander around, this is an fascinating, culturally rich barrio that doesn't deserve the bad press it gets from the mainstream, sheltered, "immigrants = dangerous" masses. Don't believe the hype. Discover Lavapies for yourself and form your own opinions. I blog a lot about the barrio so have a look virtually first if you like.

OK, now that I've given you my pro Lavapies speech, I'll stop ranting...

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