Night of the Dead
February 14, 2026
A legendary carnival
100 years dancing the city
The ticket includes a drink
Party schedule 22:30 - 06:00
Access restricted to those under 18 years of age
We are legend: we celebrate a century of partying, subversion, and shared memory.
Madrid's most beloved, celebrated and lived-in festival is back: the Carnival ofel Círculo de Bellas ArtesAfter 100 years in a building that has witnessed stellar moments and been frequented by all sorts of personalities and intellectuals, this Carnival has become legendary. And what does a legendary Carnival mean? It's not about posturing or nostalgia: it's about shared memory. Legend is what sticks with you, what resurfaces in conversations weeks later and becomes "I was there" even if no one has proof.
And since you'll be here, we'll be waiting for you with a costume worthy of the legend: a flowing white dress that billows like a platinum blonde wig; a masterful hip sway squeezed into the mythical "American Eagle jumpsuit"; a DIY motomami; Guinevere and Arthur wielding the memorable Excalibur; TV classics like the Electroduendes or Carmen Sevilla with her little lamb; if art legends are your thing, a tribute to the fabulous Maruja Mallo or a simple Dalí-esque mustache will do, but if you're looking for something more conceptual, bring out the test pattern or your favorite meme.
General admission with drink included €50*
CBA members' entry with drink included €40*
The ticket includes a drink
street cry
Samantha Ballentines
This year, the Carnival opening speech will be delivered by an absolutely essential figure in drag and contemporary pop culture: Samantha Ballentines. Charisma, sharp wit, and unfiltered irreverence guarantee an unforgettable start to the night.
Samantha Ballentines is one of the most beloved and recognizable drag queens in Spain. Born in Gran Canaria and based in Madrid, she rose to fame as a contestant on the second season of RuPaul's Drag Race Spain , where she stood out for her sense of humor, her approachable personality, and her ability to turn chaos into a spectacle. Beyond drag, Samantha is an actress, presenter, and multidisciplinary artist with a strong presence in television, theater, and cultural events.
With her bold, popular, and deeply relatable style, Samantha Ballentines blends comedy, social commentary, and pop culture from an accessible and celebratory perspective, turning every appearance into a collective celebration. Her performance promises to set the perfect tone for a night where excess, laughter, and freedom will take center stage.
Line Up
Diana Aller
Ever since Diana Aller started DJing back in the '90s, she's been shameless. Not in front of the booth, not behind it. What she always delivers is wild fun and a lot of dancing. Her sets range from urban to queer, encompassing oldies, synthpop, Italo, garage... and pop in all its variations. She promises the most epic set of your lives.
The Body of the Disc
Almost classics in the DJ booths of Madrid clubs, although their varied palette of tastes means that their sessions are constantly evolving, always free of prejudices and in communion with the public.
Cherry Pie
He has forged a unique identity thanks to his musical talent and his ability to captivate audiences. When one of his sets begins, a space-time vortex opens up where different musical styles converge in an exceptional way.
Gee Contreras
Gina is a vinyl selector and collector. Her taste and knowledge of Black music developed in the Bogotá hip-hop scene and has expanded in recent years since moving to Madrid. A lover of rap, disco, and Latin jazz, her eclectic taste includes various Caribbean and African rhythms, 90s beats, and 70s New York Latino.
TIRAYA and PatataOnStereo
TIRAYA and PatataOnStereo combine clubbing traditions in B2B sets focused on non-stop dancing. From Latin club and baile funk to hard groove and UKG, they blend house, tech-house, and techno into a dance machine already making waves in Seville and Madrid.
Anthonius
Anthonius is a producer, DJ, and musician who blends dancefloor sounds with sonic exploration. He runs Tokonoma Records and unites tradition and modernity with a human-centered approach. His visual impairment does not limit his rhythmic instinct or his connection with the audience.
Alnank
His sets are a hallucinatory and festive journey between the past and future of Latin dance rhythms and beyond, between the local festival and the club. Music that's more or less tropical, more or less underground, like his Radio 3 Extra podcast "Wild Delights."
Do not miss your entry!(opens in new tab)
Entry includes one drink
Access restricted to those under 18 years of age
Party hours: 22:30 PM to 06:00 AM
Ricardo Cavolo, legendary figures
Ricardo Cavolo is one of the Spanish artists with the greatest international reach. His work has been exhibited in galleries and exhibition spaces in cities such as Madrid, Paris, London, Barcelona, Montreal, Mexico City, Porto, and Milan, among others.
She has collaborated on advertising campaigns and creative projects for international brands such as Gucci, Apple, Zara, Starbucks, Alexander McQueen, Bally, Nike and Samsung.
As an illustrator and author, he has published several books and graphic novels with publishers such as Lunwerg (Spain), Nobrow (United Kingdom), SM (Spain), Two Dollar Radio (United States) and Limina (Italy).
His mural work has been featured in international festivals such as Mural (Canada), Glastonbury Festival (UK), Label Valette (France), Cut Out Fest (Mexico), and Mulafest (Spain). He has also created murals in cities including Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Hong Kong, Montreal, Singapore, Seattle, Mexico City, Bordeaux, Vienna, Copenhagen, and Bali.
Partying in a 100-year-old building
Carnival (Masked Ball) is one of the celebrations that best defines us in el Círculo de Bellas ArtesWe've been celebrating it since 1891, even before we moved to our current headquarters, and since then we haven't stopped dancing, dressing up, and celebrating boundless imagination.
Over the years, our Carnival has traveled through different emblematic spaces in Madrid —with the Royal Theatre as one of its most frequent stages— until finally settling, in 1931, in our headquarters on Alcalá Street, where it continues to reinvent itself edition after edition.
We take special care with every detail: from the selection of the Carnival crier to the design of the Carnival poster, always entrusted to unique voices and perspectives within the cultural sphere. Our Carnival has featured figures such as Rafael Alberti, Félix Grande, Rosa Regás, Terenci Moix, José Luis Cuerda, Clara Sánchez, Álex de la Iglesia, and Kiko Veneno, among many others.
The posters, authentic collector's items, bear the signature of artists and creators such as Antonio Saura, Eduardo Arroyo, Ouka Leele, Juan Genovés, Rafael Canogar, Joan Fontcuberta or the designer Olga de Dios.
More than a century later, we still understand Carnival as what it has always been for us: a festival of freedom, creation and masks, where art and celebration go hand in hand.