Madonna discovers a place in the Raval where "the best flamenco" is done

BarcelonaThe Barcelona music scene has had an unexpected surprise: Madonna has discovered the existence of 23 Robadors, one of the city's most underground venues. The person responsible is the Venezuelan DJ and producer Arca: the singer has been collaborating with her for years, and she told her about the venue during one of their work sessions. In a clip from a video posted on social media about the making-of of Madonna's album, the two artists talk about places to listen to good flamenco.

"I know a very good flamenco place in Barcelona," Arca tells her, before citing 23 Robadors and specifying that "it's not Spanish, but Catalan." Madonna tries to pronounce the name of the venue while Arca explains to her that the street name means "thieves," and tells her that some of the best flamenco musicians perform there. The 23 Robadors team has confessed that the news caught them by surprise, and they didn't take long to share it on social media. "Excuse me?! Madonna and Arca talking about 23 Robadors?!", they wrote in an Instagram post on Instagram, and added that "some things cannot be invented".

23 Robadors is a live music venue located in the heart of the Raval. The venue is only a few square meters, so the distance between artist and audience almost disappears: attendees sit just centimeters from the instruments. This intimacy fits with what is played there, especially jazz and flamenco. Although the programming changes throughout the week, the flamenco nights at this venue, with already legendary series such as 23Flamenco or the Sarsalé sessions, are almost a ritual for fans.

Every day of the week, at eight in the evening, there is a flamenco session, which on Saturdays and Sundays is repeated with a second pass at ten at night. The rest of the nights the programming is varied: from Monday to Wednesday, the venue becomes a classic jazz club with jam sessions, and on Thursdays and Fridays the offer oscillates between funk and bebop. The entrance costs about 10 euros.