Today the City of Madrid celebrated the 200th Anniversary of the War of Independence (1808). We attended a two-act performance that began in the Plaza de la Villa with a drum and horn fanfare. We then moved to the Plaza Mayor where there was an "interpretative" representation of Goya's painting "3 de Mayo. The Battle with the Mamelucos." There was music performed on mechanical instruments, horsemen on "dancing" steeds, and a moorish band.
You will see from the pictures that there were thousands of people packed into both plazas. It was quite the experience. One of the more interesting encounters we had was with a group of young men who belong to the "Heraldos del Evangelio" conservative Catholic youth organization. Their uniforms were reminiscent of the Order of Santiago. 
We also had a chance to visit the recently remodeled Casón del Buen Retiro with an exhibition of Lucas Jourdan, an 18th Century painter who did the decorations for the original palace.
1 comment:
Thank you so much for doing this blog. I will look forward to reading it every day (or as often as you post) to get a real feel for what you are doing. Sounds like you are already seeing great things.
Dana Murphy (Alyse's Mom)
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