Madrid is culture. Madrid is diversity and tradition. It is gastronomy, a multitude of flavors and textures. That is why the City Council of the Spanish capital has decided to render a tribute to Madrid hospitality, which is one of the great economic, tourist and cultural drivers not only at the regional level, but also at the national level. They have made it through the 'Thank you Madrid' totem -located in the well-known Plaza de Callao-; one of the project initiatives of the Ibero-American Capital of Gastronomic Culture, of which Madrid is host until December 2022. This ephemeral monument in the shape of an M -of Madrid-, will remain until August 1, and is nothing but a large mailbox where people can leave messages of gratitude to town. An emotional tribute that celebrates the Ibero-American gastronomy in Madrid.
'Thank you, Madrid'
It has been his own mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, together with the president of the Royal Ibero-American Academy of Gastronomy, Rafael Ansón, and other personalities, who has inaugurated this tribute for the city. According to the Madrid City Council itself, the mayor “has asked to thank the restaurateurs and chefs of the city for all the effort made over the last year by going to visit them and enjoy them” so that, as he explained, they continue “to consolidate that Madrid's leading role in the national, Ibero-American and global arena".
As we said before, Madrid will hold the title of Ibero-American Capital of Gastronomic Culture for the remainder of the current year and all of 2022. This entails a series of events and activities that highlight the gastronomic and cultural importance that identify the city. Among other things, a gastronomic map to get to know the best Ibero-American restaurants in Madrid; In addition, in July the World Class Cocktail, which seeks to value the essence of the capital.
Knowing the most Ibero-American side of Madrid
The thing is, what better way to get to know Madrid's gastronomic offer than by going to restaurants? That is why the Ibero-American Academy of Gastronomy -together with the Delegated Tourism Area-, they have developed a interactive gastronomic map where you can find some of the many Ibero-American establishments in the city.
The offer is wide and very varied, since you can find meals of up to 23 different countries -As indicated by the local institution-: Andorra, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua , Paraguay, Portugal, Uruguay and the United States - the latter is not part of the community, but is an active member of the Ibero-American Academy of Gastronomy.
The application puts at your disposal crowd of locals in which to get to know new flavors in good company. Can you think of a better plan than that? In fact, it is a tool that seeks that both locals and visitors get to know and get a little closer to the culture from each of these countries. That is why, in addition to basic information such as the address of the restaurants, a brief introduction is offered to the gastronomic culture of each place, as well as its most typical dishes -with prescription included-. Enter and discover without having to leave your home!
World Class Cocktail Festival
This is another of the many initiatives that have been launched to thank Madrid for so much gastronomic culture. The World Class Cocktail Festival It is, in the words of the City Council, "a meeting in which fifty locals from all over the city will participate and which will feature multiple gastrocultural actions and events that will allow to continue revitalizing the gastronomic sector of Madrid".
Madrid It is the seventh city that is named as Ibero-American Capital of Gastronomic Culture. Before that, Miami (2019), São Paulo (2018), Buenos Aires (2017), Mérida (2016), Guanajuato (2015) and Córdoba (2014) have been. It is, without a doubt, a more than deserved recognition. Madrid is an international benchmark for cultural and gastronomic diversity. Madrid's hospitality industry, after having suffered, as in many other places, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, little by little it begins to take flight and what better way to celebrate it than with this title.
