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  • New normality: Madrid allows to open cocktail bars and discotheques on Friday at 40% of its capacity

A Madrid at midnight in Malasaña never felt so empty. Despite the fact that yesterday nightlife venues could reopen their doors in the capital, with 40% of their capacity, at 24.00 few people walked the streets of the neighborhood. Inside the bars the reality was similar. The tables were not full . The neighborhood that was once one of the favorite spots in the city to enjoy a Friday drink, was almost deserted.

"People are still afraid . " It is the conclusion of Cecilia, one of the owners of La Jauría, a bar-restaurant in Malasaña. "Last year, at this time, we were full. People went in and out of the premises all night. Not now. Things are very difficult," he says.

The brand is ten years old and, until before the pandemic, it had three stores in the city . "We had to close one to try to keep the other two standing. Covid has made us all change, it's true. But this does not start." While we talk, a couple enters and sits at one of the tables that is now more distant from the others. They arrive with their masks on, but when they sit down they remove them. Before talking to the waiter, they clean their hands with hydroalcoholic gel. They ask for two glasses, no food.

This is Mario and David, two 21-year-olds who were eagerly awaiting the reopening of nightlife venues. "I think everyone wanted it. To be able to meet up with your friends and have a drink at this hour" they comment. They claim that, although they are not afraid of the virus, they are now looking at the measures taken by bars before choosing a place. "You have to be a little cautious."

At the moment they do not plan to go to discos , they are not struck by the new normality that applies in these places. "Basically it's the same as going to a bar, but until 6:00 in the morning and wearing the mask inside, that is, drowning. What are you going to do? I don't understand that. I don't like that idea. disco you go to dance and flirt, but not like that, "says David.

The Oh My Club room reopened. JAVIER BARBANCHO

At the bar the bartender prepares new drinks. He does it with his mask and gloves. For more than an hour in the premises, only six people entered.

Outside, on the corner of Plaza de San Ildefonso, Arturo and Óscar have a beer sitting on the ledge of a large window. They planned to enter a local bar but after walking around the neighborhood and trying their luck in a couple of places, they decided to start the night on the street. "It is 1.00 and the bars are almost empty. We are going to wait a little to see if this turns on, but we will return to the flat. We are not going to pay 12 bucks in a place where there is nobody," they assure while they drink another glass of beer. .

The temples of the night did not open their doors

The great clubs in Madrid did not resume their activities. Kapital, Barceló, Joy Eslava and La Riviera will continue to be closed and do not yet have an opening date. "We are satisfied with the opportunity we have been given to open the premises, but not with the capacity allowed. It is not economically feasible to open the large premises in these conditions, money is lost," Vicente Pizcueta, the spokesman for Madrid night.

In addition, he adds that in the case of these large rooms the problem goes further and is related to the Erte, the ICO and the negotiations on the rent. "So you open with 40% capacity , you cannot work with 40% of the staff. It will probably take the same staff that is required to open 100%, that is, it is not feasible."

Despite this, Pizcueta maintains confidence and hopes that after this first weekend of testing the new measures, other locals will resume work. "We believe that now they are going to open around 800 sites throughout the autonomous community. Of this number, 50% will do so outside Madrid, that is, in the towns and cities of second homes," he explains. With this, all the cities of the community will already have an open leisure venue.

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