Paris1972-Versailles2003

Always sublime to visit my dear Madrid and a supercharge for the rest of the year, I come to you back and updated post and some additional information on some artsy places of old that still looks good, and why enjoy the local ambiance in attending them. I will go as briefly as possible on some my family and I have enjoy over the years in my Madrid. Therefore, let me tell you a bit on my cinemas and theaters of Madrid !!! Hope you enjoy it as I,

Let’s start with the Cines Callao cinema located in the Plaza del Callao,3 built in 1926. It is next to the Carrión building, separated from it by the Calle Jacometrezo street. The building was inaugurated as a movie theater on December 11, 1926, broadcasting the movie « Luis Candelas o El bandido de Madrid « (also a well known restaurant see post) On June 13, 1929, the first sound and spoken film released in Spain was screened in this cinema: « The jazz singer « . Together with the cinemas of the Palacio de la Prensa they form Callao City Lights. These cinemas host numerous premieres, and other events.  The building presents academic tendencies with a certain Spanish neo-baroque aftertaste and in its interior decoration Viennese and Art Deco suggestions. Its terrace is designed to broadcast outdoor film sessions. The basement of the building was thought to house a Café or Cabaret, although later it was adapted to the old Xenon nightclub, now closed. Currently two large digital screens hide elements of its facades, such as three large windows and some oculus. Some sculptures and other original decorative elements, which can be seen in old photographs, have also disappeared. Its corner is crowned by a tower as a lighthouse.

The official Cines Callao : https://cinescallao.es/

Next is the Cine Capitol cinema ,a movie theater located on Gran Vía nº 41, in the Carrión building (sometimes called the Capitol building). It was inaugurated on December 2, 1933. Inside, the marble elements stood out. Outside, the marble, the polished granite, the blue stone of Murcia are combined at the entrance. During the Spanish Civil War, Soviet films were distributed,(the Republicans control it) the first Russian film distributed by Film Popular was The Sailors of Kronstadt (1936) by Russian director Yefim Dzigan, which was released in the rooms of the Capitol cinema on October 18, 1936.

The official Cine Capitol Gran Via : https://www.capitolgranvia.com/

I continue with the Teatro Alcazar theater (formerly called Palacio de los Recreos or recreation palace and Teatro Alkázar theater) is a theater hall on Calle de Alcalá 20  on the ruins of the old Trianón Palace. The luxurious theater was inaugurated on January 27, 1925 with the performances of the operetta Madame Pompadour of Leo Fall and capacity for more than eight hundred spectators. Although much of its history has been linked to the genre of the Spanish music reviews (with divas such as Celia Gámez, Lina Morgan or Esperanza Roy), at the beginning of the thirties it functioned as a movie theater, being one of the first rooms that incorporated sound projector. In 2012, the Teatro Alcazar was renamed the Teatro Cofidis Alcazar for its sponsor.

The official Teatro Cofidis Alcazar : https://gruposmedia.com/teatro-alcazar/

And now to end this post, let me tell you about my most sentimental personal story on the cinemas and theaters of Madrid, When living in Madrid, my mother would scrap some money , »pesetas », to take me to the movies. We did not have much money then in the old regime, and were very happy to go to the movies once a month. As we live off metro Quintana line 5 exit on Calle de Alcalà 331, the closest to us even on foot was the Cine Aragon at Calle de Alcalà 334! This was a very modern cinema for the times , and we were very happy to be there. I went in several times ,really enjoy this time with my dear late mom Gladys. They close long ago, but enough to bring my dear late wife Martine and our boys to it once from France. The memories will lingered forever as one of the warmest nicest places that attach me forever to my dear Madrid, Cine Aragon was it!

I like to expand here for the memories of always on Cine Aragon, sadly no pictures too poor at the time, A bit of history I like tell us that on February 8, 1954, a cinema with the name of Cine Aragon opened in the Ctra. De Aragon 124 ; this street will later became,  Calle de Alcalà 334 in honor of its location, with the program in continuous session that brings lots of nice memories, the “Al diablo la celebridad” (to hell the celebrity), and   Mundos Opuestos (opposite worlds). It was inserted in a residential building and had a wide facade where they placed their billboards. The entrance was preceded by steps that gave way to a high hall with two stairs, one at each end, under one of which were the lockers. Four entrances gave way to the cinema room, with a slope towards the screen and a high plaster ceiling. It was decorated in reddish tones and had a capacity of 1500 seats distributed between the patio and the amphitheater. In the upper part a large loge and the bar, next to which the toilets were installed, in front of these, two corridors led us to the amphitheater that developed vertiginously until reaching the projection windows. In 1997, during the screening of the movie “Rescate” (Rescue) a fire filled the cinema room with smoke and caused it to be evicted. The material damages were substantial. The place remained closed until August 1998, when it reopened completely renovated with a single room with capacity for 550 spectators, with several seats convertible into a single special for couples. In August of 2005 after the screening of “Ninnete” the Cine Aragon closed forever. Then came the change over to a toys store Poly toys , that heard was in liquidation.

This is a sad trend on the life of cinemas in Madrid and Spain in general. The last 50 years shows the gradual decline of cinemas. In this period it has fallen from the peak of 161 cinemas in 1969 to the current 31 as of 2020, After the Cine Ideal, the oldest still open are the Doré (1923 Calle de Santa Isabel, 3 ), Callao (1926 see above), Palacio de la Prensa (1929 Plaza del Callao, 4 ), Capitol (1933 Calle Gran Vía, 41 ) and Projecciones (1931 Calle de Fuencarral, 136 ), Today, 31 are still cinemas, 30 are dedicated to catering, 24 are currently unused stores, 17 are supermarkets, 17 are other stores (11 of them clothing), 16 are theaters and another 16 are gyms. A sad record indeed !!

There you go folks, these were happy moments living and then visiting my Madrid ; a great opportunity to practice your Spanish and to teach it to my boys which they learned,From Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday ! Again, hope you enjoy this post on my cinemas and theaters of Madrid !!! as I

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!