Thursday, July 12, 2007

busking in madrid

Madrid's underground is like any other underground: an under-world with its own shops, hawkers, its own life. Madrid's underground like any other underground of the world houses buskers. Loads of buskers coming from many different countries and playing all sorts of styles and instruments, although busking is an illegal activity in Madrid. It seems Alberto Ruiz Gallardón, Madrid's major, doesn't like music on the underground. I guess it's because he doesn't travel by tube.
I love most of the buskers I come across on every tube ride. Most of them are great musicians that liven up the otherwise boring rides. I often give them money because I think they are providing a service and I like it.
Having said this I must admit that there are some buskers that should pay us, the underground travellers, for making us listen to them. They're horrible. Madrid's Town Hall should allow busking and regulate it in a way that we do not have to listen to anybody who says or thinks they can play or sing. I have already spotted two horrible buskers in Madrid, one plays at Avenida de América station and the other one at Pacífico. Pacífico station is a propitious station for out of tune buskers. I dread having to commute in any of these two stations.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Pienso que es un error regular las actividades callejeras, música del metro incluida.

Y mucho menos prohibirla, claro.

Ya está todo suficientemente regulado para que encima se haga un examen a los músicos callejeros o se les pida x años de conservatorio o que le gusten o no le gusten a la persona reguladora de turno.

Sino gusta pues uno o una pasa deprisita o se pone el mp3. Es una cuestión de tolerancia.

un saludo

javier h.