Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Henrick's Congress for Curious People in Madrid, Co-presented by The Morbid Anatomy Museum and Atlas Obscura

Morbid Anatomy is delighted to announce a new, Madrid-based Congress for Curious People, sponsored by Hendrick's Gin and co-presented by The Morbid Anatomy Museum and Atlas Obscura!

Full info follows; All events will have English translation or information provided in English.Hope to see some or our Spain-based readers at one or more of these terrific events!
Henrick's Congress for Curious People in Madrid, Co-presented by The Morbid Anatomy Museum and Atlas Obscura
Dates: Wednesday, February 3 - Sunday, February 7
Times: Variable
Admission: Variable
Hendrick's Gin is pleased to present the "Congress for Curious People" in Madrid, a cultural week from February 3-7 dedicated to discovering the most unusual places in the capital of Spain. This Congress will be directed by Pablo Raijenstein (mentalist and Hendrick's Gin ambassador in Spain) and Felipe Trigo (an Spanish events producer, historian and cultural guide) in collaboration with The Morbid Anatomy Museum and Atlas Obscura.

The Congress will feature special activities and events; walking tours devoted to Madrid during the baroque era and the Masonic influence in Madrid; exclusive visits to museums of natural sciences, medicine and anatomy; and talks by Morbid Anatomy creative director Joanna Ebenstein and Atlas Obscura's co-dirctor Dylan Thuras. This new edition of "Congress" promises to be spectacular with a night of mentalism by Pablo Raijenstein and a carnival gala at the palace Duarte, the "Surrealist Ball", with Lady Bon Bon, the main performer in Kriminal Kabarett.

Following is full is of events with links to find out more.
Morbid Anatomy Day of Anatomy and Anthropology
Wednesday, February 3
https://www.facebook.com/events/1654831934775859/
"MORBID ANATOMY DAY" special visit to the museums of Anatomy and Anthropology of the "Universidad Complutense de Madrid".
Wednesday, February 3, 5:00pm, Faculty of Medicine (plaza Ramón y Cajal, Madrid)

With the collaboration of Joanna Ebenstein, creative director in the Morbid Anatomy Museum from New York. The day will include a combined tour and visit to two museums with priceless jewels.First, we will visit the Museum of Anatomy "Javier Puerta" where we will meet the director, Fermin Viejo. This collection is very important for its spectacular series of wax figures from the 18th century, commissioned by the Royal College of Surgery ("Real Colegio de Cirugía de San Carlos"). Later, we will continue the day at the Museum of Medical Anthropology, Forensics, and Forensic Paleopathology "Reverte Coma", located in the same Faculty of Medicine. Guided by a specialist, we will discover the secrets of a true cabinet of curiosities created in the twentieth century. Among countless examples, we will see an impressive collection of Egyptian mummies, vestiges of evolutionary anthropology and ritual body modification.

Important notice: it is strictly forbidden to take pictures in both museums.
Madrid in the Baroque Era: A Theatrical and Spectacular city
Thursday, February 4
https://www.facebook.com/events/1525048727794782/
Starting and schedule: Equestrian monument of Felipe IV, Plaza de Oriente. 5:00 p.m.

In this itinerary between the Plaza de Oriente and Calle Toledo we relive an era, the Baroque, in which theatricality and spectacle were omnipresent in all facets of daily life, as a sign of artistic, royal and ecclesiastical patronage. Patronage was also mass propaganda. Discover those passages in the history of Old Madrid and the first Bourbons in which the illusory, wonder and extravagance were present in the capital, where the streets and squares were used as true scenarios.The tour begins with a special visit to the Royal Monastery "de la Encarnación" to contemplate the fabulous collection of relics, one of the most comprehensive in the world, and also the treasure with the blood of San Pantaleon. The route continues through the old town, where we will focus on other subjects like alchemy and cabinets of curiosities, the symbolism of the Puerta del Sol, theatrical performances, Inquisition trials and Carnival splendor in the era of the Habsburgs. We end our tour with a visit to the Institute of San Isidro (former Imperial College) where we discuss the relationship between the Jesuits and the Baroque culture of spectacle.
 
Strange Phenomena: A Night of Mentalism
Thursday, February 4
https://www.facebook.com/events/1512179665751602/

Starting point and time: Calle Santa Ana 6. 10 p.m.
We are pleased to announce "Madrid Strange Phenomena", the first show of mentalism that takes place in a space where strange events have occurred.
With the help of those attending this evening, the mentalist Paul Raijenstein will evoke one of the most shocking events in the history of Madrid: the tragical fire that destroyed the "Novedades" theater in 1929.

This experience, with a capacity of 30 people per session, takes place in the antiques shop "Santa y Señora", the old emergency exit in the former theater. Attendees will discover that they are also a key instrument to clarify the strange events that occur in this unusual space. The show mixes collective hypnosis and mentalism recreating a seance that will leave the audience speechless

This experience was released in January 2015 and has enjoyed unprecedented success for the unique characteristics of the proposal.
The Secrets of the National Museum of Natural Sciences
Friday, February 5
https://www.facebook.com/events/525895254240681/
Starting point: corresponding to the "tickets" doors in the museum (Calle Jose Gutierrez Abascal 2) door 7:00 p.m.
For the first time, we present a unique and exclusive visit to the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, where a specialized guide will reveal the best kept secrets inside an institution that holds millions of pieces invisible to the general public. We will have a different view of the museum, highlighting the art of taxidermy, the incredible journeys of naturalists and the surprising story of the most emblematic museum specimens. This is the oldest natural sciences museum in our country, with its origin in the Royal Cabinet of Natural History founded in the eighteenth century. Under this cabinet we can admire a restricted public basement where a prodigious collection of species of mammals and birds is stored. This event will have a similar character to the "Morbid Anatomy Museum" special tour organized in the "American Museum of Natural History" in New York.
Special Visit to the XIX century Homeopathic Hospital of "San Jose" and Lectures
Saturday, February 6
https://www.facebook.com/events/1541395092838627/Starting point and time: Eloy Gonzalo Street, 3. 10:30 a.m. Only for guests. Send an e-mail to: curiouscongressmadrid@gmail.com
In the XIX century Homeopathic Hospital of "San Jose" will take place the lecture of the main speakers at the "Hendrick's Congress for Curious People". Previously, with the help of a guide, we will discover the rooms inside the Homeopathic Hospital of "San Jose" as well as the palace of the Marquis del Salado, both great examples of architecture of the first decade of the Spanish Restoration (between 1874 and 1883). Through the small Museum of Homeopathy we discover the origin and practices of this controversial discipline of medicine with many supporters and detractors from the eighteenth century until today.

Then, in the building of the Hospital we will begin our series of lectures with the following speakers:

Joanna Ebenstein, director of "Morbid Anatomy Museum," a New York institution dedicated to the study of anatomical and funerary art. She will tell us the exciting process of creating the museum and her journeys around the world in search of the sublime and the macabre.

Dylan Thuras, director of "Atlas Obscura," the largest virtual compendium of unusual places and secrets around the globe. We will talk about the incredible career of "Atlas Obscura" and the forthcoming book edited by this institution, to be published in mid-2016.

Hendrick's Gin cocktails will be served.
CARNIVAL GALA: Surrealist Masked Ball in the Palace Duarte
Saturday February 6
https://www.facebook.com/events/1541959866115116/
Starting point and time: Palace Duarte, street Mancebos 5
Palace Opening: Saturday February 6 9:30 p.m.. Closing: 2:00 a.m.
Enjoy with us the most unusual and extravagant Carnival in Madrid inside the Palace Duarte, where the gala of the "Hendrick's Congress for Curious People" will take place.Inspired by the memorable "surrealist balls" organized by Salvador Dali in Paris and New York, our Masquerade show will feature Lady Bon Bon, one of the best artists of cabaret and burlesque in our country famous for her performances in "Kriminal Kabarett" more venues in Europe. The "Surrealist Ball" also includes a brief theatrical tour dramatized to discover the history behind the walls of the Palace Duarte, a mansion built in the XVII century. The evening will be accompanied by an eclectic soundtrack (opera, classical, swing revival, lounge, exotika) and a Dj session (80s, new wave, electro vintage).

Dresscode welcome: Any stylish and transgressive attire inspired by the past will be welcome. For the more adventurous, we suggest constumes inspired in surrealist artists or designers: Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Otto Dix, Paul Delvaux, Schiaparelli, Alexander McQueen ... More suggestions: 1920-1930 fashion, cabaret, dandies, feathers, masks, animal kingdom, African tribes, Orient Express, fetish-glam ... Use your imagination and surprise us!
Included with the entry: Hendrick's Gin cocktail in the palace.
Madrid and Freemasonry
Sunday February 7
https://www.facebook.com/events/163737973998341/
Starting and schedule: Egyptian Temple of Debod, 11 a.m.
A surprising and complete itinerary where we will show you the history of Freemasonry and its privileged relationship with Madrid through politics, society, culture and the arts. We will begin our route in the Egyptian temple of Debod to discuss the myths about the origin of Freemasonry and the meaning of its symbols. We will continue our walk through the Plaza of Spain and the Plaza de Oriente and the neighborhoods of the historic center, ending in front of the Congress of Deputies. We will speak about numerous aspects of Freemasonry in Madrid: their first steps in the eighteenth century and its boom in the Napoleonic era, the last persecutions of the Inquisition, its height and splendor from the revolution of 1868, the controversial history of this institution under various regimes of the twentieth century and his return after 1978. An exclusive opportunity to rediscover a key institution in the history of Europe that often changed the course of art, science, architecture and philosophy.

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