La Caja Mágica is a macro-space and multipurpose stadium located in the Madrid neighborhood of Usera, south of the city. It hosts sporting, cultural and corporate events. Among them, numerous concerts and music festivals that have been disturbing residents of the San Fermín and Orcasur neighborhoods for years. They claim that the noise of the music is unbearable, even though they live several kilometers away.
Just two days ago, Real Madrid cancelled all concerts scheduled until April at the Bernabéu stadium, after months of protests by local residents against noise and complaints about noise filtration. And yet, this Saturday, just one day later, the music of a festival has not let the residents of the Caja Mágica sleep, who say they have been denouncing the situation for several years to the Madrid City Hall. “Whether the noise of the Caja Mágica festival will make the news or how it is in the south of Madrid, it doesn’t matter,” one of them criticises in a message on the social network X.
“I live 2 km from the Caja Mágica and you can hear the noise in my house and even see the lights! I can’t imagine what the people who live next door are suffering. And here there are parties that last for days and end at dawn. Will measures also be taken? Oh, don’t wait, the southern area doesn’t matter,” denounces Rebeca Martínez on the social network. “Last night at the Caja Mágica was unbearable. Even with the windows and blinds closed, the noise that prevented sleep was not avoided,” adds Javier de Vitorio.
“The rest and health of those of us who live near (and not so near) the Caja Mágica are not important to the Madrid City Council, because for them we are not like the inhabitants of the Bernabéu”, also denounces Sergio Nieto. In X. Son, many residents of the south of Madrid, also from Los Rosales and Villaverde, use the platform to protest against what they believe is a difference in treatment between residents of traditionally working-class neighborhoods and those of historically wealthy neighborhoods. “We do not live in the Bernabéu but in working-class neighborhoods and what happened yesterday at the Caja Mágica with a deafening noise that could be heard 4 km away until 2 in the morning was horrible”, complains Silvia.
In June of this year, the San Fermín Neighborhood Association presented an Effective Plan for macro-events in the complex, with requirements to put an end to the noise, mobility problems and dirt they encounter every time the Madrid Open tournament and music festivals take place there. “Why doesn’t the competent sector of the City Council measure the decibels that seriously violate the limits set by the noise pollution ordinance? Isn’t it the Santiago Bernabéu, where this was reported, because in San Fermín it can be done, reads the text presented by the association four months ago?
The Ombudsman already asked the City Council in 2021 to minimise the impact of future concerts at the Caja Mágica. In her annual report, she asked the municipal authorities to minimise the negative acoustic effects for the residents of San Fermín and Orcasur; and proposed the creation of a communication channel between the City Council and the residents to find solutions to noise pollution. But so far, this has not happened. The neighbourhood associations denounce the silence of the Administration and claim to have received no response to any of their requests, even though they consider that the noise level of the Caja exceeds the permitted decibels.
“The noise of the events in the magic box is UNbearable, the residents of the Bernabéu complain and cancel the concerts and the residents of Villaverde, what else should we do? Yesterday, until 1:30 in the morning, the windows vibrated and with an 8-month-old baby…”, asks Rebeca Tilve, another neighbor.
