“October is the month of Tapapiés, no one can miss it,” says Mercedes Saracho, director of the Association of Traders of Lavapiés, which is the organizer of this famous Multicultural Tapas and Music Festival of the neighborhood, in a promotional video. “A great event”, as Saracho alludes, in which 92 venues participated with a truly succulent bait: tapas accompanied by a bottle of beer (sponsor of the festival) for 3.50 euros. And judging by the massive influx, it seems that few wanted to get lost, which had consequences.
The hangover that the neighborhood experienced from October 16th to 26th with the celebration of this event left a clear outcome. Anyone who entered this well-known area of the capital encountered an invasion of people who seemed to take over the neighborhood and its usual life. Especially during the weekend, people crowded onto the sidewalks, it was difficult to move among the crowds concentrated in areas such as Plaza de Lavapiés and Calle Argumosa, and cars could barely circulate because the asphalt was also occupied by pedestrians, due to the lack of public space capable of accommodating that excessive level of capacity.
An entire drinking party in the middle of the street, in what looked like a large bottle, neighbors insist. In that context the loud noise flooded everything, they complained, it was difficult to converse without leaving one’s voice in the attempt and in the premises, full of customers, there was no room for anyone else; while, outside, cans, bottles of alcohol and waste left by the street party were piled up.
Thus 10 days have passed in which the celebration of the 15th edition of this gastronomic festival took place. But, as Saracho says in the video cited above, “Tapapiés is a neighborhood, there are many neighbors in Lavapiés.” And, although in it he also sent them a message of tranquility and called for moderation and respect for the rest of the neighbors, that is not exactly what they claim to have experienced.
“This year has truly been a Tapapiés scandal,” says Manuel Osuna, president of the La Corrala neighborhood association in Lavapiés. After 60 years of living there and 15 since the event began to be organised, he says he has never seen an edition like it. “This 10-day celebration in the neighborhood is unbearable, because it totally changes the lives that the neighbors lead every day,” says Osuna. “There were people who couldn’t go down with their dogs, take out the garbage, walk like we normally do in our neighborhood, rest…,” he explains.
When it was born, the association supported and even participated in this initiative. At that point, the outcome of the event was as planned. “It used to be a weekend and you would see your neighbors, but now it’s no longer possible to go out into the street,” Osuna points out. This initial scenario contrasts starkly with the landscape of Tapapiés 2025. “Honestly, it was a beastly disaster,” says Osuna. “15 years ago it was a way to energize the neighborhood. Now instead they are chasing away the residents who are still here.” According to Osuna, Tapapiés is currently “an event that is organized to invite people from all over Madrid to come (to Lavapiés) to drink beer in the street”.
Despite this, he clarifies that the neighbors are not against any type of activity, “but controlled, so that it is not a riot”, he underlines. Yes, they are against the consequences suffered in this edition. Dirt, urine, vomit, excessive noise and people drinking in the streets until the early hours of the morning are some of the events that have annoyed the neighbors the most. “The next morning, the neighbors who had a garage on Sombrerería Street found, when they opened the door, the entrance full of rust.” Osuna points out that the lack of chemical toilets, which are installed during block parties, and the fact of not being able to access establishments in the area due to excess capacity, could encourage this type of uncivilized action.
Despite the immense number of people who gathered in this area, there were no conflicts between the participants. Nonetheless, Osuna highlights the insecurity that the development of events could have caused in other respects. “I imagine if an ambulance had to come over the weekend, to see how it got to the house of the neighbor who needed it.”
For all these reasons, the La Corrala Neighborhood Association sent a letter to the President Councilor of the Central District on 26 October to express its discomfort and concern for what happened, denouncing the impediment that this has posed to the development of the daily lives of the residents. It is not the first time they have reported him, they had also done so the previous year. In response, the Center City Council committed to reducing the duration of the festival’s activities to four days. A promise that was kept in this edition, despite the entire festival being celebrated in 10 days.
When asked what failed the 2025 organization, Osuna sums it up in one sentence: “I think the organization is dead to success.” According to him, perhaps the organizers did not expect such a large turnout, but, as he underlines, “in the end it was a disaster, things got out of hand”. They therefore believe that the festival was overwhelmed this year, which was reflected in the increase in complaints and discontent.
Furthermore, the neighbors do not believe that this festival, as it is planned now, generates anything positive for Lavapiés. “It really leaves nothing for the neighborhood, just a lot of dirt,” Osuna explains. Even if they don’t complain about the cleaning service, they remember that these jobs also cost the public purse. And ultimately, because of how things unfolded, they felt left out of the event. “A lot of people who aren’t from the neighborhood come to have fun, but the neighbors who live here year-round don’t have fun.” They insist that they are fine with holding the festival, but not in the streets that way. They ask to reduce it to a weekend or four days.
This newspaper contacted the festival organizer, but he declined to make any statement. They referred to the statement released after the first weekend of Tapapiés 2025, on October 21, and to the video mentioned above.
“Tapapiés is an essential economic engine of the neighborhood”, reads the press release, “the event generates life and stable activities”. A reading that differs from that of the neighbors. Nonetheless, traders recognize that the forecasts relating to public attendance have been exceeded and in this sense add: “We are fully aware of the serious consequences that this overflow has had on the lives of our neighbors: the noise, inconvenience, dirt and episodes of incivility are unacceptable”.
Likewise, they say they are working on “a new Tapapiés format that is more respectful of life in the neighborhood” and invite both neighborhood associations and the Municipality to collaborate in the design of this new model for future editions.
It is not known whether the next edition will bring with it the first of the renewed Tapapiés announced by the traders. Nor whether the neighbors will realize their desire to return to the initial proposal that gave birth to this gastronomic festival, limiting its current duration and creating a scenario that does not contravene their daily lives. In any case, if the good coexistence of Lavapiés is to be guaranteed, both residents and traders seem condemned to understand each other. So that October can once again be a good month for all who spend it.
