Giants & Big Heads parade (San Isidro)

Madrid’s San Isidro festivities this week again put the city’s Gigantes y Cabezudos — giant papier-mâché figures and oversized “big heads” — into the streets as part of the capital’s annual celebration of its patron saint. Tourism Madrid says the 2026 festival includes parades on May 9, May 15 and May 16, with routes beginning from Plaza de la Villa or the Madrid Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions. The processions are part of a broader San Isidro programme running from May 7 to May 17 across sites including Plaza Mayor, Las Vistillas Gardens and the Pradera de San Isidro. Madrid’s city government says this year’s festival combines concerts, popular dances, exhibitions and family activities. ### Which parade is taking place this weekend? Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16 are the two San Isidro weekend dates tied to the Giants and Big Heads processions in 2026, according to Tourism Madrid. The May 15 event is billed as the “La Pradera” procession, while the May 16 event is listed as “El Madrid Antiguo,” or Old Madrid. (esmadrid.com) The tourism listing says the May 15 procession set off at about 8:30 a.m. from the Madrid Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions and headed up Paseo 15 de Mayo toward the hermitage. The May 16 procession is listed as the third and final parade of the series. ### What exactly are the “Giants and Big Heads”? Tourism Madrid describes the event as a parade of processional giants known as Gigantes y Cabezudos, a fixture of San Isidro celebrations. (esmadrid.com) The city’s English-language listing says giant papier-mâché figures are carried aloft and dance to dulzainas and tambourines. More than half a century of festival history is attached to the figures, according to Tourism Madrid. The named giants include the chulapos Julián and Mari Pepa in traditional dress, along with Alfonso VI, La Latina, Alcalde Móstoles, Manolita Malasaña, Muhammad I and La Arganzuela. ### Which characters appear in the 2026 routes? (esmadrid.com) The May 15 “La Pradera” procession includes giants Julián and Mari Pepa, Alfonso VI and La Latina, according to the official tourism listing. The same listing says the “big heads” on that route include Cuchares, Lola La Naranjera, Marizápalos and Luis Candelas. The earlier proclamation parade, listed by Tourism Madrid for the start of the festivities, included a larger cast. (esmadrid.com) That route named giants such as Manolita Malasaña and Alcalde Móstoles, and “big heads” including Melones, Tía Javiera and Doña Cundis. ### Where in Madrid do people see the parade? Plaza de la Villa is identified by Tourism Madrid as the starting point for the city-center parade route, and the San Isidro festival page says emblematic sites across Madrid host the wider programme. (esmadrid.com) Those sites include Plaza Mayor, Las Vistillas Gardens and the Pradera de San Isidro Park. The May 15 route is tied specifically to the Pradera area and the hermitage, linking the parade to one of the festival’s main traditional gathering points. Tourism Madrid says San Isidro celebrations also include the romería in the Pradera and the custom of drinking water from the spring next to the chapel of San Isidro. (esmadrid.com) ### How does the parade fit into the larger San Isidro festival? May 4 was the date Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida presented the 2026 San Isidro programme, according to a city statement. The city said the festival runs from May 7 to May 17 and includes desfiles de gigantes y cabezudos — Giants and Big Heads parades — alongside concerts, contests, exhibitions, fashion and gastronomy. (esmadrid.com) Tourism Madrid says the programme offers free activities for families across the city. The official festival pages also list concerts, chotis dancing and other traditional events around the same dates. ### Where can readers check what comes next? May 17 is the final day listed for San Isidro 2026 on Tourism Madrid’s festival page. The city statement and tourism listings say the full programme is available through the official San Isidro website and Madrid tourism pages, which continue to carry schedules and venue information for the closing events. (diario.madrid.es) (esmadrid.com)