Full article here at El Pais English Edition

TODOS A LA PUERTA DEL SOL, NO NOS VAN A ENGAÑAR MAS, DEMOCRACIA REAL YA!

I jumped on the computer and clicked through to RealMadrid.com. What had happened? Had the socios revolted against the management? Had Jose Mourinho been sacked?

Nothing seemed out of place. What was my friend on about?

I texted him back. “What’s up dude? What does your message mean?”

Well, it appeared that my poor Spanish was at fault. This was not Real in the sense of Royal, this was Real in the sense of real. It was a call to protest, the very beginnings of what has now morphed into a nationwide movement.

As I write, the Puerta del Sol, the public square at the centre of the city, is currently occupied by many thousands of (mostly young) demonstrators. They’ve set up camp and they’re not moving. It’s huge. To get an idea of how huge, check out this photo essay at The Atlantic website.

I’ve never seen a demo this big before, and I’ve seen a few – Madrid has lots of demonstrations, it’s a popular way to spend a Saturday.

Tomorrow (Sunday) there are municipal elections. The demonstrators say they are non-party aligned, but this is sure to have some sort of effect. It’s all very exciting. It could be momentous. But no-one has any clue how it might end.

Here’s a classic example. A ballad. Listen to the crowd sing-a-long.

Described as: “No apto para niños. – Desnudo integral de marionetas en el escenario.”

Hahahahaha!

Currently on at the Teatro Nuevo Apolo de Madrid, directed by David Ottone with puppets built by Manuel Roman.

Mahou Clásica – the original version lager, which is cheap and horrible
Mahou Negra – which is a dark ale
Mahou Mixta – a lemony shandy, only recently introduced to the market
Mahou 5 Estrellas (5 Stars – pictured below) – a 5.5%abv lager

Now, your beer snobs will tell you that Mahou is just a basic pilsner and will use pejoratives like “inoffensive – bland – gassy – insipid” etc., but that’s because beer snobs are fat, North European losers who only mix with other people at CAMRA conventions. To really appreciate the brilliance of Mahou you need to drink it in ice cold cans on a typical sunny Madrid day with your mates. Then its true genius comes out, because it goes well with tapas, friends and lots of talk, which as any self respecting Spaniard will tell you is the whole point of life.

I love Mahou and Mahou loves me. It never gets me horribly drunk but it does get me lovely and tipsy. I can drink it all day and still party all night. It’s refreshing, has a hint of maltiness both at beginning and end notes, it’s available everywhere and IT’S GOT 5 BLOODY STARS ON THE TIN, so there. And as an added benefit, by drinking Mahou you get automatic membership into the cult of madrilenismo.

In the city, Mahou has but one competitor. Yes, you can find the odd San Miguel and sometimes people will drink a Corona or two, maybe an Amstel or Heineken, but the only other beer with any wide distribution is Cruzcampo. Below is a picture of the Cruzcampo mascot. He’s called Gambrinus.

A pilsner at 5% abv, Cruzcampo comes from Seville and isn’t bad at all. I drink it when there isn’t any Mahou, and as there is almost always Mahou, that means I drink it rarely. But it is Spain’s biggest selling beer and like I say, it isn’t bad at all, especially when sold as draught.

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This site is going in my sidebar. Muy bueno!

Part of the Game TV

THIS IS A HISTORY OF MADRID from Miguel Maldonado on Vimeo.

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!

The streets are full of people going craaaaaazy. World Champions!

Right, I’m off for the biggest party ever.

Still, let’s enjoy it while we can (a very Spanish trait) and look forward to Sunday’s World Cup final vs Los Países Bajos.