Shakira puts the limits of macro-concerts to the test

MadridWho would have told Gabriel García Márquez that in a wheat field that is no longer cultivated –a legacy of what was once the Madrid district of Villaverde, as its name indicates– a venue called Macondo Park would be installed. The name of the town that the Colombian writer imagined in One Hundred Years of Solitude is what Shakira has decided to christen her European residence in Madrid, where she has been since this Friday until October 11, when she will bring the Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran world tour to an end. There are a total of 12 concerts and, in just two days, the Colombian has already sung in front of more than 100,000 people.

Some 55,000 people –the daily capacity– have welcomed her this Saturday, in what was her second concert. A "Shakira" in giant pink letters appears on the stage screen. On the floor and in the stands, hundreds of mobile phones light up. And an almost silence is broken in an apotheotic way when the singer suddenly appears. Accompanied by dancers, she crosses through the audience to the stage. "Buenas noches, Madrid!", exclaims Shakira, who soon starts with classics like Las de la intuición, and which a devoted audience does not hesitate to sing and dance to. Individual bracelets that light up and fireworks take care of the lights.

Shakira promises to "give it her all" and it seems the audience does too. Soon one of the references to her latest success, which led her to this tour, appears: "There is nothing like when a she-wolf reunites with her pack". She states that the last few years in Spain "have not been easy": "I left with one face and I have returned with another", she says while the audience applauds her. The euphoria scales song after song.

220,000 square meters

In this residency, the Colombian singer has imagined and built herself a custom Macondo, and who knows if it is because the residents of this peripheral and industrial neighborhood of Madrid have also been promised a new landscape for a long time, which some fear, ever since various administrations promoted the "city of music" there.

"Does the mural surprise you, right?", Gemma, a neighbor from the district and member of the Stop Festivales Villaverde platform, asks me. "Very much," I answer her. "They have told us that this could be the future Soho of New York. Can you imagine tourists here?", she replies. It is Thursday, September 10th, and we are walking with other neighbors around the perimeter of the venue where the singer will perform. Nearby is the industrial park of the same district, and on a facade of one of the warehouses there is a painting with bright colors and imaginary figures that contrasts with the gray scale of the industrial buildings and the red brick of the closest buildings. "This is an industrial neighborhood," they reaffirm with pride.

Macondo Park is part of the Iberdrola Music venue: grounds of up to 220,000 m². The promoter Mad Cool Events –whose president is a board member at Live Nation España, Shakira's promoter– is the owner along with other private investors, and the energy company is a sponsor. Since it opened, the events have not stopped growing to the point that while the Colombian singer's musical residency is being installed, the Coca-Cola Music Experience is being dismantled.

For some residents of Villaverde, as well as Colonia Marconi and Getafe Norte, neighborhoods that border the venue, Shakira's concerts are the last strawof what began in 2023, when the Madrid macro-festival Mad Cool arrived there: noise above permitted limits, collapsed public transport, blocked streets, isolated neighbors, businesses forced to pull down their shutters outside of normal hours, filth, or the fear that a stampede of people might occur. "This [Shakira's residency] goes beyond everything we have seen so far," exclaims a neighbor from the same association. Festivals usually last between two and four days. And she warns: "The area is not prepared for the fan phenomenon".

These concerts will be the only ones that the Colombian singer will perform in Europe. Therefore, it is not she who travels to different cities, but rather it is the audience who does so. Live Nation Spain has focused on the arrival of European citizens, but also those from Latin America. "We come from Helsinki. It has been quite expensive for us, but she is the singer of my generation. We grew up with her," says Maria (27 years old). She and her three friends have paid 205 euros for the ticket for this Saturday. During the concert, Shakira does not hesitate to throw out a thank you in English.

It is expected that more than 600,000 people will attend in total. This Saturday, when there were still more than two hours left until the concert, a very long line was already accumulating at the entrance to the floor: "We were told that yesterday there were people who could not enter," comments a girl, who acknowledges that she has "very high expectations" for the concert. A father who is with his daughter takes it more calmly: "We will stay at the very back, where it is sure that one can dance," he comments while sitting in the shade with a group of strangers.

The central stage and the stands form an immense black amphitheater. Around it, up to eight pavilions of different bright colors and a large white VIP area have been deployed. All the pavilions have their own programming hours before the concert: musical, literary, artistic, gastronomic, children's, and fashion. For example, a Shakira museum, a reading club for One Hundred Years of Solitude or a catwalk of Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada's designs. It is, as defined by the organization, an "experience" under the umbrella of what the singer understands as "Latin" culture.

A showcase?

But the Colombian will not be alone. During these days she will be accompanied by up to 27 different artists: Amaia,Guitarricadelafuente, Lia Kali and Yerai Cortés, among others. "I suppose the fact that she [Shakira] is also a showcase comes into play. You have to make yourself known and the music world is very tough". This is how two of the organizers of the Observatorio Festival reflect, who have been surprised by the presence of some names on the lineup. They have been linked to the world of musical entertainment for years but from a different format; initially, of much smaller dimensions.

They consider that Shakira's "artistic residency" is not a turning point –although they have doubts regarding the environmental impact–, because the model of macro-concerts and macro-festivals is consolidated: "Even so, it is full of increasingly visible rough edges", they add.

"There are macro-festivals that overwhelm the physical and mental capacities of their audience. There are human-scale festivals and superhuman festivals", reflects journalist Nando Cruz in the book Macrofestivales: el agujero negro de la música. Recently, the proliferation of these large events has gone hand in hand with complaints from many attendees about the feeling of being in a can of sardines, the quality of the music, the price of the tickets, the cost of food and drink inside –at Shakira's residency a glass of water costs 6 euros: 3 for the water and 3 for the glass– and the feeling of "chaos".

"In terms of profitability it is a round business, but they are very sold out. The presence and dependence on brands is very strong", they reflect from the Observatorio Festival. On the venue map this translates into the fact that each of the pavilions bears the name of a sponsor. For example, the Ouigo, Disney or Boss Perfums space. In the latter case, the public could queue to leave their signature on a panel. "They come to more than just a concert. Or do you pay 100 euros to enter to see Shakira from a screen 200 meters away?".

Neighborhood conflict

Outside the venue, the organization has also tailored the surroundings to their needs. "Along this paved path, which used to be a dirt road where cars couldn't pass, we used to ride our bikes to get to Getafe. Now it serves the staff," the neighbors point out. They also report that some white pines have been cut down. Those that remain will coexist these days with giant palm trees.

Madrid City Council has established a mobility plan, although from the neighborhood it is seen as insufficient. Also on the part of the Getafe City Council. The area only has one commuter train station and the nearest metro is half an hour away on foot or ten minutes by bus. When access is cut off –they cannot enter or leave during peak hours–, the taxis and VTCs that wait for the public at the concert exit take over the street. "Maybe you go to the supermarket and when you want to return they don't let you in anymore," a neighbor denounces.

"During the rehearsals we already had it [the music] inside our house," laments Gemma, who asserts that the sound emissions exceed what is permitted. Stop Festivales Villaverde has already taken the battle to the courts through criminal proceedings. "We cannot go through the administrative route as has happened against the Santiago Bernabéu [...] We cannot pay for big lawyers," some members of the organization explain while laughing.

Some neighbors fear that the businesses in the industrial estate that lose money on days like these and are not compensated will end up leaving. "If we lose this industry, what is left for us? They tell us that this [the festivals] might provide jobs [...] Misery, they give a lot of money to Madrid, perhaps to the hotels, but poorly distributed," asserts Gemma, who complains that it doesn't even affect the few shops in the neighborhood. "At most they can go to Burger King once they leave because it's the only thing that is open." They also relate that in the face of their complaints, the music promoters sometimes promise them free tickets or even work: "To our children, as waiters or to guide cars and attendees.

"They have even told us [the administration] that thanks to this they are removing the prostitutes," indicates one of the neighbors. "Of course, because they are closing the access points –adds another–. They must think we have them at our front door [...] I will tell you that I prefer them over this." Near the area is one of the historic spots in Madrid where sex work is practiced. Most of them are immigrant women. The situation of some of them as victims of human trafficking has also been reported. This, added to the shantytowns that have marked the neighborhood in the past, has always been an element used to stigmatize an area that has one of the lowest per capita incomes in Madrid. "We are not a marginal neighborhood, we have been marginalized," denounces Gemma.

Other musical fits

For the organizers of the Observatorio Festival, there are other models that everyone can enjoy, "but not at this scale," they warn. The problem, they say, is that brands "are not interested" in sponsoring them because it is less profitable. "It is a paradox when there are people increasingly interested [...] In the end, you depend a lot on public subsidies, which luckily exist, but are not guaranteed," they lament. They have a small budget, a good part of which pays salaries.

"I like music, and so do many neighbors. And surely many would like to see Shakira or other concerts. But I think that on principle I will not go; and at the same time, what a sacrifice not being able to enjoy your artist. It is complicated. What we want is for them to be held in designated places. And if you have to travel further, it shouldn't matter to you if what you want is to see your favorite singer," concludes Gemma, who does not hide a certain pessimism: "This is not culture, it is business [...] We are sold out." While the solution does not arrive, macro-festivals and macro-concerts seem to have adopted the thesis of endless growth.