Shakira is preparing to open Macondo Park in Madrid on September 18, turning her 12-concert residency into a celebration of Latin American culture. The temporary complex at Iberdrola Music will feature a museum, live performances, literature, fashion, food and family activities. Inspired by Gabriel García Márquez’s fictional town of Macondo, the project invites fans to explore a world beyond the main stage.
Shakira is bringing much more than a concert tour to Madrid. For 12 nights between September 18 and October 11, the Colombian superstar will headline a specially built stadium at Iberdrola Music, surrounded by a temporary cultural complex where visitors can spend hours exploring music, art, books and food before she takes the stage.
The scale of the project became clearer on September 16, when organizers opened Macondo Park to the media for a preview. Workers were putting the finishing touches on an ambitious production that has taken 16 months to plan and involved around 10,000 people. Shakira also visited the site to inspect the preparations ahead of opening night.
The venue has been designed to accommodate more than 50,000 concertgoers per evening. Reports have put the cultural complex at approximately 150,000 square meters, although larger figures have also been published for the surrounding site. Whatever measurement is used, this is an extensive temporary installation built specifically around the singer’s Madrid residency.
The idea is to make the hours surrounding each performance part of the experience. Fans arriving in the afternoon will be able to visit exhibitions, watch other artists, attend workshops and explore food and fashion spaces before heading into Shakira Stadium. Activities are also planned after the main concert, giving visitors more time inside the complex.
Macondo Park forms part of ES LATINA, a wider cultural program celebrating Latin American creativity during Shakira’s stay in Spain. The project brings together established artists, emerging performers, writers, designers and chefs, using one of the year’s major concert events to introduce audiences to work they might not otherwise encounter.
Its name comes from Macondo, the fictional town at the center of Gabriel García Márquez’s novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. The literary reference is especially personal for Shakira. Both artists are Colombian, and she knew the novelist, whose work has inspired generations of readers and influenced her own artistic life.
Rather than simply borrowing a famous name, the organizers have developed the park around different creative disciplines. Its themed spaces offer visitors several ways to engage with Latin American culture, from the books that shaped the singer’s imagination to the contemporary musicians and designers sharing the event with her.
At La Biblioteca, García Márquez’s writing sits alongside books that have inspired Shakira throughout her life. The literary program includes conversations with 24 women writers, creative-writing workshops and a reading club featuring a different book each weekend. Visitors will also find a bookshop and an immersive experience based on One Hundred Years of Solitude, created with permission from the author’s family.
A few steps away, the Museo de Shakira focuses on the artist herself. Developed with photographer and director Jaume de Laiguana, the exhibition contains previously unseen material selected by the singer. It examines her career through three themes: cultural identity, social impact and the celebration of Latin American culture.
De Laiguana has played an important role in Shakira’s visual career, making him a familiar collaborator for a project that looks beyond her best-known performances. The museum offers fans an opportunity to explore the images and ideas associated with different periods of her work, using archival material that has been assembled specifically for the residency.
There will also be plenty of music outside the main stadium. La Sala, a second performance space, will host artists appearing as part of ES LATINA, including Amaia, Nathy Peluso, Guitarricadelafuente, Santos Bravos and Gale. Emerging musicians are also included in the program, giving the event a lineup that extends beyond its headline attraction.
For fans who want something more interactive, Club Loba will recreate sets from four Shakira music videos. The space combines familiar imagery from her career with official merchandise and a karaoke competition whose announced prize is a trip around the world.
Fashion has its own place in the complex. El Taller will present work by emerging Spanish designers alongside high-fashion creations, with exhibitions and runway shows scheduled during the residency. The emphasis on younger names gives the program a role beyond displaying established luxury brands.
Food is another substantial part of the plans. Chef Rafa Zafra is overseeing El Mercado, where approximately 35 culinary options will draw inspiration from countries across Latin America. Other chefs are also participating, creating a dining area that reflects the different traditions represented throughout the festival.
Macondito has been designed for families with children. Shakira’s sons, Milan and Sasha, contributed to its development, while Disney is collaborating on the space. Activities will incorporate elements of fantasy, football and musical instruments, with food options intended for younger visitors.
Dance completes the cultural program at El Patio, where visitors will be able to participate in classes and activities covering styles such as salsa, bachata and urban dance. It is a fitting addition for an artist whose performances have always placed movement at the heart of the music.
The range of activities makes the residency an unusual proposition for a stadium concert. Visitors can explore Shakira’s career in one area, discover a new musician in another and then move between literature, fashion and Latin American food before the headline performance begins.
Access, however, is limited to concert ticket holders. A ticket for the relevant Shakira show is required to enter Macondo Park, even for someone interested only in the exhibitions or the second stage. There is no separate park-only admission, so each day’s cultural program is tied directly to that evening’s concert.
For the opening weekend of September 18, 19 and 20, the current schedule sets the venue opening at 3:30 p.m., with activities beginning at 4 p.m. Shakira Stadium is expected to open at 6:30 p.m., followed by the singer’s performance at 8:30 p.m. The show is scheduled to finish around 11 p.m., while the wider complex will remain active until approximately 12:15 a.m. These times are subject to change, and schedules for later dates will be communicated separately.
The 12 concerts are scheduled for September 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 and 27, followed by October 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11. They form the Madrid residency of Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, bringing a large-scale touring production to a temporary stadium built for her performances.
For now, the complex is still in its final preparation stage. The September 16 preview offered a first look at the installations, but the experience will only be fully tested once the opening-night audience arrives.
On September 18, those first visitors will be able to move from García Márquez’s literary world to a museum of Shakira’s career, catch a performance at La Sala and explore the other spaces before the lights go down in the stadium. After months of construction, Macondo Park is ready to welcome the fans it was designed for.
