It’s the middle of August and the thermometers are skyrocketing, but not everyone can flee the city.
Some have to work and others’ salary is not enough for a vacation. In Europe, vacation poverty affects 40 million people.
And the heat waves don’t help. In Spain High temperatures are responsible for more than 750 deaths so far this summer, according to the Carlos III Health Institute. But large cities offer more and more options to stay fresh and entertained, such as the Madrid City Council’s initiative, ‘Refuge in Culture’.
Given the large influx of tourists and citizens who stay in the capital, “we want them to take refuge in culture, especially during the intense hours of heat,” Rafael Cabrera Yagüe, general director of cultural activities of the Madrid City Council.
The initiative proposes 15-minute micro flamenco shows at the hottest hours, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the capital’s main museums such as the Prado Museum and the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum. Other municipal libraries, cinemas and museums also offer discounts and shows.
Rai Dominguez is from Pamplona and has come for a few days vacation to Madrid. It’s in the flamenco show at the Prado museum. “In addition to promoting art and flamenco, which I think is something we all like, it is also looking for a place of refuge where you can protect yourself from the heat and stay a little cool,” he says.
A green oasis in the heart of Madrid
The Círculo de Bellas Artes has become the star climate shelter this summer. Its former ballroom is now a green oasis with more than 300 plants. This room is about 27 degrees, a temperature which contrasts with the 45ºC that is reached outside.
Los visitors They are excited about this climatic refuge where they can work, rest or just hang out. Tiziana Anelli, who is Italian and lives in Madridworks as a freelancer. “I work at home and I don’t have air conditioning. So it is a good option to be in a cooler, prettier, different place.”
For Nicole Perez-Yarza this refugio It is a great and more sustainable initiative. “Especially the plants and being able to be in a place cooler and that it is not necessarily with so much air conditioning, but rather that it is more natural.”
The little ones cool off at ‘Madrid Beach’
There are also shelters for the little ones. The call ‘Madrid Beach’ It is one of the favorite places for parents and children. “We come here for our daughter. It’s very hot and you can’t do anything else. Either you go into a shopping center or you come to these places,” explains Cristina Alonso.
Madrid Beach consists of large ovals with water jets that come from the ground located in the Madrid Río area, on the bank of the Manzanares River.
Laura García Bermejo, mother of two children, also assures that the ideal is to look for plans like these so that the children can refresh themselves, a good time outdoors. “Especially that they are not stuck at home, which in the end is the worst thing for them.”
In Spain one in three homes with minors He cannot afford even a week’s vacation according to the latest survey of living conditions prepared by the National Institute of Statistics.
