Symbols, cartoon characters, huge tribal, skulls, virgins, dragons, demons… tattoos are hot. To decorate the skin with permanent drawings is not a simple mode, but it is a way of understanding the beauty, the body and life. It’s no longer considered a trend belonging to any sexual orientation- thank God! -. How can someone think that homosexuality is just a trend? Ridiculous, don’t you think? In any case, it is true that tattoos and the gay world have crossed their paths and it seems that they do not to want to separate. Both have many things in common.

Anyone who knows the history of homosexuality knows that it has been persecuted for centuries. The Nazis, for example, considered the gay people as sick and criminals, and the homosexuality was punishable with prison or death. The gay prisoners under the Hitler regime were identified with an inverted pink triangle in the concentration camps. That’s why today this symbol has become a political edge to the gay world.

You might wonder what has to do all this with tattoos… Although it is true that in many cultures, the tattoo has been a very common and accepted practice, in others it only has served to report the criminals (like the inverted pink triangle). In fact, until the boom of tattooing emerged, the tattooed people were considered criminals or drug addicts. As you see, both tattoos as homosexuality have suffered big stigmas. And to think that nowadays it is almost impossible to find young people without tattooing! And who does not know any happy gay couple in love?

The symbols are the most powerful communication tool that has existed because of its ability to convey a meaning and an intention. Because of that symbols are the most popular tattoos… The gay world is also full of symbols of pride and vindication. There are symbols for everyone: for gay, for lesbians, for bisexuals, for transsexuals, etc.

You probably know that the rainbow is a symbol of gay pride, but you know why? Perhaps you are unfamiliar with signs such as pink triangles, black triangles, red ribbons and many different flags that so many gay people have in a tattoo.

For example, the flag – its most common symbol – is used since the 70’s and their colours symbolize the diversity. The Red colour for the life, the orange for the healing, the yellow for the sunlight, the green for the nature, the turquoise for the magic, the blue for the serenity and the violet for spirit.

Do you know Madrid? The Spanish capital is a reference not only in the tattoo world, but also hosts one of the most charming gay villages of Europe: Chueca. In a few cities you will find the tolerance and the openness like this. Find out with your own eyes! Rent Apartments in Madrid to find a cheap accommodation.

It’s not long until the Klubbers Day festival gets under way. This will also be the fifth year that this electronic music festival is celebrated. Klubbers Day is one of the more established music festivals for the lovers of trance, techno and house music. Therefore, Madrid will become the European capital of electronic music for three hectic days in March: the 18th, 19th and 20th.

This year Klubbers Day comes greener than ever, betting for ecology and sustainability with a strong commitment and cooperation towards preserving the environment. With this purpose, an area called Klubbers’ Green has been created, where a ground capable of generating energy has been implanted in order to supply power for the DJ cabin, amongst other things. Another way to help out the environment is by using recycled materials only. That is going to be the case in this green area, including the bars, which are designed to minimize energy consumption. A strong bet for the environment!

This initiative aims at finding feasible solutions towards achieving sustainability in the entertainment industry on one hand, and raising awareness among people about the importance of caring for nature and sustainable growth on the other. Thus, the organizers have created a magnificent and admirable Decalogue: for every sold ticket, a tree will be planted; they promote environmentally friendly public transportation; they have made all the flyers out of recycled paper; waste is recycled; energy is saved using LED lights; plastic consumption is reduced; water and electricity consumptions are optimized to a minimum, etc..

This years Klubbers Day edition will count with over 100 bands and DJs of national and international reputation such as Armin Van Buuren, Erick Morillo, Faithless , Brian Cross, Óscar Murelo, Henry Saiz, Umek, Sven Väth, Dubfire Paul Ritch, Adam Beyer, Egbert y Ilario Alicante, among others.

Along with the music, there will also be many cultural activities that take place like an exhibition dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a meeting point for friends and journalists, and various performances, live acts by cultural pointers bands from the underground scene in Madrid. Moreover, thanks to the success of previous editions, the festival has been extended 24 hours, going from two to three days of frantic music and fun.

Are you going to miss it? Get your ticket now before they run out. And do not worry about housing and rent Apartments in Madrid, the most economical and comfortable option to stay in the Spanish capital.

On June 25th of 2009, several songs of the King of Pop were being listened to and heard through the windows of thousands of homes. The loss of the pop music symbol has saddened so many people that nobody wants to forget him and everybody want to revive him.

In October, “This Is It”, a musical documentary that showed exclusive Michael Jackson rehearsing was launched in cinemas all around the world for two weeks. And the last tribute will be released on March 13th at the Lope de Vega Theatre in Madrid: the musical “Forever King of Pop”.

Forever King of Pop

A new Michael Jackson will enter the stage of the Lope de Vega Theatre in Madrid. He is one of the 400 participants selected for the casting of the future musical. The casting proposed three historical themes, ‘Thriller’, ‘Black or White’ and ‘Beat it’ but the show includes 30 songs in two acts, with 14 dancers, impersonators and 16 choristers, acting for two hours and 30 minutes. Being the star of this musical will not be easy, because imitating the king of pop is very complicated and requires great physical and vocal preparation, plus a lot of momentum, and the know how, in order to transmit the love and the magic of Michael…

Neverland in Disney Land

Another story in order to resurrect the pop legend is the creation of a theme park in Disney Land, with a museum, an art center, a golf course and 300 hotel rooms. The idea is to create a copy of his home, Neverland, his paradise, where he lived from 1988 until 2006. The Jackson phenomenon is just beginning…

Like many people, you will enjoy attending this fantastic musical on March 13th in Madrid. With the fireworks, the magic, the live orchestra and the Gospel choir, it promises to be a dazzling and unforgettable spectacle, like Michael’s were… An anecdote: the memorial of the King of Pop on July 7th 2009 brought the highest audience ever reached on TV in history, surpassing the rate of Apollo XI, with over 2.500 million viewers. Reserve your place as soon as possible for the musical and rent Apartments in Madrid, they are cheap and we guarantee you will enjoy a relaxing stay.

Going back to the eighties is something that is commemorated on a regular basis. For some this was a memorable decade, the great 80’s! For others it is a time of questionable aesthetic taste that they hope disappears forever. For these the present is turning into a visual nightmare. The question we should ask is how do we find an objective way to assess the aesthetic taste of a particular generation?

Given that it is hard to escape from this aesthetic-cultural morass, through which everyone must belong to a particular generation, it seems difficult or almost impossible.

That is why the world is divided between those who jump on the bandwagon and those who don’t. Those who jump on usually do so because they are close to this generation, because they would like to be part of it or because they have not bought any clothes in over two decades.

Those who are anchored in the 80’s aesthetic vision already have their eyes wide open when they have to face the shopping mall crowds, and wonder why there is such a change bringing some to tears or in extreme cases to even pull their hair. For these, it becomes increasingly difficult to find what to buy in popular stores, increasing their anger towards the forefront of the new generation as they feel like misunderstood creatures that will soon become obsolete. But one thing is for sure: it will never with that bad taste!

Although the new generations bashing is a very common attitude in the human race from a certain age, history is not as repetitive as it sounds. Superfluously it seems that the return of every little thing is eternal, but no matter what they say, history does not repeat if you look at it carefully. We find proof of this in the sneakers. These shoes were already worn in the eighties and are now popular again although they have undergone major changes. The colour has increased to the point it seems impossible to find a tonal range of a single product and the combinations are unthinkable. Their shapes have become so far-fetched that it seems difficult to distinguish them from slippers.

This example is just a grain of sand on the beach, perhaps ludicrous and banal, but it could be extrapolated to larger matters.

If you want to buy eighties shoes, denim jackets and leopard trousers come to Madrid where you will find the most trendy shops or not. Rent apartments in Madrid and take the opportunity to follow your own fashion.

The Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid has inaugurated an exhibition of the famous German artist Thomas Schütte. You can enjoy it until May 17th 2010. This is the most complete retrospective dedicated to the artist in Spain.

Schütte (Oldenburg, 1954) has been one of the most important German artists of his generation, combining sculpture with painting, until venturing into the architectural world. In the sixties he worked in series with his same name where he examined the human feelings of vulnerability, isolation and despair, always under the most ironic perspective. It was not until the eighties when he became very famous thanks to his architectural models. Schütte’s whole work is imbued with social and political issues. In addition, he is very concerned about the artist’s position in society.

This show will address a journey through his extensive career, allowing the visitors to appreciate the continuous innovation of his work and his amazing evolution over 30 years.
The exhibition – entitled “Retrospección” (retrospection) – takes us through the artist’s early works, while he was still a student, until the most recent ones… This will include installations, watercolours and etchings, photographs and architectural models, and of course, major sculptures such as Women and Dogs.
We are able to see up to 65 works, which will be split between different rooms of the museum, the garden and the cloister…

Despite being world famous for his sculptural works, Schütte began his career as a painter and he was a pupil of Daniel Buren, Gerhard Richter and Blinky Palermo. But later he delved into the fascinating world of sculpture. His works enjoy a maverick and unclassifiable spirit, with a most varied style, form and technique.
Don’t miss it! Discover the best of Schütte in the charming Spanish capital. Soak up the art, culture and have fun. To find the best accommodation, rent Apartments in Madrid. It will be a perfect trip!

Whether through his illustrations, paintings, sculptures or stickers, the art of the American Ryan McGinness is always fascinating: the visual symbols, the strong and psychedelic colours, the drawing with templates and the overlapping are his best allies. He uses a simple aesthetic that reminds us of the flyers, the Andy Warhol collages or the surf, graffiti and skate culture. In short, it’s a truly amazing work of art that you must discover. Visit it in La Casa Encendida de Madrid until April 4th.

Ryan McGinness (1972) lives and works in New York but is originally from Virginia Beach, where he spent his childhood surrounded by the skateboarding and surfing culture. That is where he found his source of inspiration. But it was when he worked at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh that the “McGinness brand was born. Since then, his graphics have been developing until reaching a stunning setting in which the logos, the colour, the shape and the composition are the predominating elements. McGinness defines his art within the limits of abstraction and representation.

Once you have seen one of his creations, you’ll think they are perfect designs for music albums, for concert flyers… A copy of the artist’s studio will occupy the room C of La Casa Encendida, a place where he will create new art works accompanied by people interested in sharing his ideas and visual techniques. This project is designed to be like a workshop.

The admission is free; the exhibition is a gem and Madrid, a charming capital. You have no excuse to pass up this exhibition. So organize a trip to the Spanish capital and enjoy its charms. If you rent apartments in Madrid, everything will seem too good to be true.

CaixaForum Madrid is showing 25 years of the artistic career of Miquel Barceló (Mallorca, 1957) in a magnificent exhibition which will open from February 11th to June 13th. This exhibition will allow the viewers to enjoy his artistic experience, full of mystery and adrenaline. In this manner it will tour through some 200 pieces in the form of paintings, sculptures, posters, books and travel books.

With such purpose in mind, the artist has yielded an imposing sculpture called Gran Elefant dret (2009), a cast bronze elephant of seven feet high, which presides the public square of the CaixaForum. This invites the public to enter to the universe of the Majorcan painter.

This exhibition tries to approach the artist in a way that has never been done before: to discover an artistic biography through his large canvases from 1982 until his more recent work. The viewer will be immersed in the fast-paced, intriguing and mysterious work of Barceló.

The exhibition has the clear intention of bringing the great public his work as a personal experience. This is why he has chose the paintings and sculptures which are most representative of his career, including many from his own collection, which makes this exhibition a major event in the artistic agenda of the year 2010.

According to the organizers, the public will be brought into his most material world, his travels, both physical and mental in space and time, his use of unusual elements, his representation of the human and the animal world and his relationship with tradition.

Are you an epicure of art? If so, you have probably already heard about Miquel Barceló. If you are just discovering how stunning the artistic world is, this is the perfect moment to discover Barceló’s work. In any case, Miquel Barceló awaits you at the CaixaForum centre in Madrid. You’ll love the Spanish capital! Rent Apartments in Madrid and discover the best art has to offer.

Photoshop can be useful to retouch the celebrities defects, to improve the photography of a newspaper, to embellish landscapes, but first of all, it is a great tool for the creative designer Jericho Santander. This young designer was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and since he was a boy he loved drawing and computers…he now has mastered this program to create incredible illustrations. His designs, similar to the Dali’s paintings, are fantastic and colourful; they combine landscapes, animals, objects and bodies: it is truly innovative and unique.

There are people who think they are know it alls in Adobe/ Photoshop because they venture into the world of layers, colours and other options. But if they take a look at the Jerico Santander’s work, they may wonder if he really uses the same Photoshop program we common people use. His secret is his special vision and ability to make the best use of the technology: the digital art is reached to higher levels.

He says his influences are obviously Surrealists: he loves Salvador Dali’s art. In his illustrations you can find female bodies, details like fishes, birds, mouths… his work is extremely unusual and poetic at the same time; the colours lead us to a dream world created from photography, a bit of 3D, painting and various Photoshop tools. He is also fascinated with the Polish illustrator Peter Jaworowski and the English illustrator Storm Thorgerson, who have a similar vein, but less surreal.

His art is highly regarded on the Internet, he currently works in an agency in Madrid as a freelance illustrator.

We invite you to take a look at the creations of Jerico Santander, you’ll love them… If you want to meet him, the best way is to go to Madrid, where he works. You can take advantage of a wonderful stay in the Spanish capital, specially if you rent comfortable and cheap Apartments in Madrid.

ARCO Madrid 2010, the must-visit event for contemporary art, opens its doors from February 17th through 21st in IFEMA. At this 29th edition of ARCO the city of Los Angeles is invited as a special guest and it’s the first time that a city has been invited, instead of a country, as was the norm in previous editions. The Californian city is very powerful regarding art and creativity, and with a selection from 17 major galleries, curated by Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles, the art fair will give you the chance to get acquainted with the art scene from one of the USA’s major centres of production.

Besides ARCO, art centres such as the Instituto Cervantes, museums like Museo Reina Sofía and other venues in Madrid have programmed acts and exhibitions related to LA’s artistic activity.

A part from that, in ARCO you can see the works of more than 200 galleries and almost 3000 artists coming from all over the world, showcasing pieces of work from different disciplines, such as painting, sculpture, graphic work, performance, digital art, etc. – a chance to see some of the most experimental and innovative creativity.

For five days in February, Madrid will become a exciting centre of art. Beyond all doubt, you can’t miss it! To make the most of your leisure time in Madrid, take your time for visiting ARCO. If you are preparing your trip, reserve your Apartments in Madrid to get the best accommodation. A good dose of the best world’s contemporary art is the best way to immerse yourself in culture.

Finally the winter has arrived! The white season forces many children to stay home because of the bad weather. Probably it the saddest season of the year until the snow comes along! From then on the winter is synonymous with joy and fun for young and old alike.

Over the years, playing in the snow with the children has become one of the most popular entertainment activities for winter. Most ski resorts have been adapted to the young ones and have activities planned specially for them – thus parents can also enjoy quiet moments alone.

Most ski resorts have enabled nurseries for the young ones (children under 2 years). Babies from four months are also catered for. Fun for the older ones among us is guaranteed! The staff goes out to play with those who are old enough and look after the smallest ones (they are highly qualified personnel that guarantee the same attention and care as you would find in a normal nursery).

For children between 3 and 5 years of age, some ski resorts have “snow gardens”. Thanks to these gardens the parents can go skiing while the children are in touch with nature and learn how to behave on the ski slopes: there they learn to slide on the snow with skis specially designed for them, to mount on the conveyors and they participate in many other funny activities. They just have a first contact with the snow!

Children who are over 5 years old can start learning to ski (the experts recommend it). For the budding snowboarders it is advisable to wait until 7. But the best time is between 8 or 9 years old, because the children learn faster and they are better qualified both physically and intellectually. There are experienced instructors who teach ski courses. And remember, that even if you are an expert skier, you may not be ready to teach your children the arts of the white sport, as you may have acquired bad habits.

Many of the slopes also have a catering service in the nurseries. How wonderful! But what do you do with the children when the ski slopes are closed? Find out if there are special parties or activities for children at the ski resort. Some shows and games are organized for children to enjoy the whole day.

Do you want to go skiing? Take your children to Madrid to enjoy both the city and its beautiful mountains. The Madrid Mountains have large and formidable slopes for the whole family. Rent Apartments in Madrid for the best accommodation and enjoy the white season.