Although due to the current situation this year they have been suspended, we cannot fail to mention one of the most traditional festivals in Madrid, such as those of San Lorenzo, San Cayetano and La Paloma, which usually take place between 6 and August 16 of each year.

Every August 7, the people of Madrid go to the church of San Cayetano to, continuing the tradition, kiss the saint’s right foot. On the other hand, during the procession, the greatest desire is to catch a flower of the throne that bears the image, since that guarantees to work for a year. And is that San Cayetano is the employer of the unemployed.

This saint protected the poor and the sick, coming to repudiate all their property. As a tribute, the neighbors distribute “limoná” every year, a kind of sangria with white wine, lemon, sugar and cinnamon.

After San Cayetano, San Lorenzo is celebrated. It is said that he lived in the third century and that, when the Pope died, he was assigned to make an inventory of the assets of the Church. But what he did was distribute them among the needy. For his part, he assigned his lepers in Madrid to his superiors, claiming that this was the patrimony of the Church. The matter was not amusing, and he was sentenced to die on a grill on August 10.

And the grand finale of the festival is dedicated to the Virgin of La Paloma. It is a curious party since in this case, an image is not venerated, but a painting that Isabel Tintero found and restored in 1787. After that, she placed it on the door of her home so that the fame of the Virgin grew. She got so much fame that the neighbors decided to build a church for her and which bears the same name.

In all these parties the pimps and the chupalas, Don Hilarión, the Caste and the Susana … are the main protagonists. They are, undoubtedly, together with San Isidro, the most remaining Madrid celebrations.

And so that you do not want to live the most traditional of Madrid, you can always come to El Anciano Rey de los Vinos, one of the oldest taverns in the city where we put all our efforts so that you can relive that Legendary Madrid.