Events: Fines of up to 2,000 euros for young people at the party without masks at the Barceló Theater
A doorman adjusts his earpiece at the door of a gambling den on Gravina Street on Friday at 5:35 p.m.
In places that were previously neon, this glare from the sun that does not fall is artificial.
The president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, decided to cut another hour in the leisure agenda from Monday and
at nine the blinds ring
and a row of penitents looks Tuesday too early. commonplace of office workers until e
l Covid put it all lost.
They called it late, the showers where to remove the smell of
excell
.
"Late or?
It is a term that has become fashionable ”, is skeptical Santi Carbones, owner of Válgame Dios, a local of Augusto Figueroa.
The terrace opens onto the alley on the corner.
It's stupid.
People have to leave before and period »
he replies. «The problem is the clandestine parties.
That hurts us, "he says.
the congas of the Barceló Theater
, the explosion of irresponsibility and contained joy of the kids that puts a price on the hair of the city's hospitality industry.
«It is a prostituted sector.
There is no union.
These are things that should not happen.
We are not all equal"
says Carbones after adapting, again, to the update of the restrictions.
Safety distance between tables.
Capacity at 50%.
New ventilation system inside.
An hour less.
We have already missed our dinners.
They force us to open earlier. ”At the outdoor tables, José Carlos holds his dog in his arms.
«We comply to the letter.
In fact, I have not traveled to Linares at Christmas because my parents are already old, "he says.
They are not neighbors of the neighborhood.
"I live in El Viso and she in La Moraleja," he raises his chin towards Cristina, "my only close contact during the pandemic."
"We keep each other company," she says.
«We like to come here, but we come little.
The last time was ... », he thinks,« a month ago ». Two adolescent couples go up on Gran Vía, hooked on each other's arms, keeping company on their first dates.
Still so daytime, as if they were the protagonists of the restrained adaptation of
Kronen stories
They are looking for a place to stand to be responsible.
Later, home.
No no no
bottle
»
, defends one of the young women behind the balaclava of the mask.
Madrid at that time is a walk of suspects.
Any plastic bag could contain a bottle of alcohol or, worse, ice. “Many people live in the hotel business.
The vendors are fried.
People are better in bars
.
If they have less time, they will go to the houses, which is where they are infected », intervenes Santi, who also leads a session on Sundays in Chicote:
Mom Lola
, with the label and the music of
The lover
, his nightclub that is now hibernating awaiting the post-covid awakening. In the mythical bar of Gran Vía there are already some customers.
"It's my first night in Madrid," says Víctor, a young man who has just got off the Alsa, "from Jaén," sitting near the door.
«I start working this week.
I am
bartender
.
The first place he had to come was to this.
There is no doubt ", he adds with the optimism of the new ones.
“Night bars have had to change.
With our license they allow us to serve dinners, ”Rubén, the manager, raises his voice over the music.
A DJ presses buttons.
Dream
Drum and full
on the site that was once our Copacabana. Clients sit in
tables separated by screens.
A device injects into the atmosphere of red light the mist that appears to be the tobacco smoke that Miguel Mihura smoked on nights in the other dimension.
«Before there were high tables.
People could dance here, ”he opens his hand over the empty hall.
The gap through which the collection is lost.
The mile of absences to the restrooms, which must be accessed one by one.
Where Sananda Dico, the singer who enlivens the afternoon with "very personal" versions, freezes with early morning aspirations. It's 6.15pm.
«It has changed a lot.
I can't go near the tables.
I cannot hesitate.
The performance is, literally, stop.
He can sing, he says, without a mask, as long as he is six feet from the client.
«With the pandemic, artists have to find our lives as best we can.
In the morning I am in the studio recording or composing, but it is not the same anymore.
You have to leave early to find your life, "he says.
The cache has dropped "30%" compared to 2019.
He doesn't mean what he charges to perform "an hour or two, tops" this Friday.
In their profession, with the pandemic, “many do it for free or have thrown their prices down.
The only thing I can tell you is that I have not done it ", ditch." We are safe here, "considers Ramón, who shares the table in the back with Miriam and Juan.
His glasses, two
Pisco Sour
and a
whip
, they tremble like a storm surge.
«They put good cocktails.
You can chat.
We are calm.
Have you seen the security measures?
Now we are looking at
where to go for dinner before curfew
», Advances with Nordic resignation.
Esther and Geraldine, "like Oraldine but with the G", finish a cigarette at the door.
"It's my birthday," says the first.
«¿
Bottle
?
That you ask us is a compliment.
We are no longer here to do
bottle
»The night is getting colder when before it began to heat up.
The purple tones of 7:00 p.m. anticipate the short hours
of the weekend.
Some anxiety keeps the clients of Casa Sweden, the expansion of tables at the NH Collection Sweden hotel, in front of the Blanquerna Cultural Center, in suspense.
lobby bar
.
The
Dry Martini
illuminates the meanders that circumvent limitations.
There are three environments organized around the distances, as if Chenel had designed the plan to lessen the effects of the infection.
You drink, you eat and you alternate. "It's the first time we've come," Alicia walks ahead in front of a minimal cake with two candles, three and one, and three empty glasses.
"This is the first time we have seen each other since before Christmas," listen to her friends Ana and Lidia.
"We tried to go up to the terrace," they say, but the tables were all reserved.
The pool is one of those high-rise lagoons that dot the bottom of the Boeing, the freshwater beach in Madrid for tourists.
“We were responsible to try not to infect our family at Christmas.
The truth is that
I would never have gone to a party like Barceló's »
Hustle peeks from the bathrooms.
The door that leads to the semi-basement of the drains opens and closes, turning on and off the sound of music that sounds like the nights sounded.
"It's a private party," explains one of the waiters.
He prefers not to give his name.
“It is organized by the hotel through an event agency.
We have nothing to do with it.
It is accessed with a bracelet and they do not put a price on sneaking in.
"There will be 25 or 30 people"
, clarifies.
Another waiter warns two young men that "you can't go out like this" to the quiet area: their masks had slipped.
«Madrid is the New York of Europe
.
I don't know the city yet.
I have not done tourism.
I arrived a couple of weeks ago.
I'm telling you from what I've already seen in the environment.
The meals, the plans that arise, of all the things that can be done, ”says Juan, a Colombian, one of the guests.
She is expecting two friends.
He has started "an undergraduate" in business in "
i is i
», The« European School of Economics », Antonio Maura's private university. The girls appear.
Juan tries to lose himself with them in the direction of the impassable room.
«Madrid is a great city.
I'm going to spend eight months here studying business.
We came to this place because they told us it was nice, "says Emily, who arrived five days ago from Los Angeles.
He is accompanied by Robin, who goes to the "network" from Madrid to his job in New York.
"We have made two bottles", they laugh, in the apartment of their new companions.
«We are calm.
The tests were negative »
, he clarifies, allowing himself to be carried away by Juan. The fever in this greenhouse at dawn does not replace the late afternoon in the street.
At 8:00 p.m. there is no room for anyone else on the Ramses terrace
.
"Ayuso's measurements are cosmetic," says a regular customer.
"No, no, I won't give it to you," he puts the gin and tonic on the table.
Around, there is a giant conversation in which the many groups of four contribute, at the same time, their considerations to the air.
Some fancy call that droplet convention.
"And the Metro?" He asks.
No worker wants to make a statement, although a whisper escapes.
«We have lost 95% of our foreign clients.
They are the ones with the greatest purchasing power.
Those who dine.
Although I was surprised by the number of French people there were a week ago ”, confirms the impression of one of the Amazonian maitres that Madrid is the capital of the exile of those who were left without bars in their cities. Patio de Leones is the Cañí version of Ramses.
Other
dry
on the horn at 20:30.
A group of friends drink beer inside.
«We have a meeting at four
.
We make plans we didn't do before.
We have been visiting the Bansky exhibition », says María, from the Canary Islands.
«Santa Ayuso», Miriam appears.
“Luckily they let us, at least, go out this time.
Have you seen how they are in Barcelona? ", Adds Olga, who spent Christmas confined" by the positive of my boss. "In Santa Engracia, at 9.30 pm, only the doorman Wellington and the relations Tato remain at the door of Agua Bendita , another of the sanctuaries of those nights.
"We have
a blacklist of 30 non-compliant
the rules.
No photos can be taken.
We have changed a lot.
It is drunk on site.
And we have a cold letter.
Tartar roll and that, you know? », He watches how the clientele is scattered doing eses by Chamberí.
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