Capital of Spain
The 2 de Mayo (2nd of May) Fiesta commemorates the 1808 uprising of Madrid inhabitants against French domination. Street parades, dancers and a marching band bring pomp and ceremony to Malasaña’s Plaza del 2 de Mayo – literally translated as 2nd of May Square.In 2008 the extensive programme includes a concert by Mexican tenor Rolando Villazón and a film cycle dedicated to the 2nd of May and the War of Independence at the CÃrculo de Bellas Artes cinema.
Festivities take place at the Plaza Dos de Mayo in the Malasana district (named in honour of the young seamstress Manuela Malasana, shot in the struggle). This was where resistance to French oppressors was at its most fierce. At the centre of the square stands a solitary gate – the only remnant of the Monteleon artillery barracks which were at the heart of the resistance – and a monument to artillery captains, Daoiz and Velarde, leaders in the struggle.
Dos de Mayo begins the summer season of street fiestas in the main Plaza Dos de Mayo and throughout the city.
