What was it like to be part of the organization of Spain's largest WordPress event?

Phew, like Carla said, we're finally done! Or are we?

Well, they say a WordCamp isn't over until you write about it, though I have to say it doesn't really end until the sponsors have taken all the good stuff from my house, lol.

But I’m going to give you a spoiler, in case you don’t want to read my whole ramble—though you’re welcome to comment at the end. For me, being on the WordCamp Madrid organizing team has been great—it was tough before, during, and after. But it was worth it, for the whole team, for all the attendees, the sponsors, and for these intense days—that’s the word: “intense”—but ones that will stay with me forever. So much so that I’ll be back for the next one (if they’ll have me), and by 2025, I want to be leading it.

WordCamp Madrid: Everything Has a Beginning

With our nerves already on edge that Thursday during WordCamp week, Carla and I met up to pick up drinks for Contributor Day—and by the way, thank goodness we didn’t listen to you guys… they said almost 400 people would show up! Well, in the end, there were about 150 people. We wandered around to pick up the last few stationery items that seemed to be missing and not much else, wrapped things up, and off we went for the next day.

Friday kicks off the week—rock and roll!

Well, yeah, early Friday morning, Carla grabbed everything she had at home, and I took all the stuff from the sponsors and headed to La Nave. Of course, I had to go back for more stuff that arrived that very same Friday—oh my God! That’s where I started getting to know an amazing guy I had the pleasure of meeting this weekend, Carla’s partner (Antonio)—wow, what a workhorse! And I talked a lot with my teammate, Santi.

You know, Antonio did way more than the rest of us—he’s a real jack-of-all-trades, and, of course, a great guy! Antonio, you’re the best, and we owe you a huge THANK YOU for all your hard work.

 

Time to plan

We had a general idea in mind of how we were going to set everything up, but until the day actually arrived and everything was in place, we couldn’t quite put the finishing touches on it. Our idea was to keep the flow of people from being concentrated in one single spot, but rather spread out across all areas and moments. After moving tables back and forth and checking in with the rest of the team to see how they felt about it—based on one of Tellado’s suggestions—we made the final changes, and that’s how it turned out.

Well, if you've never organized similar events with groups of people before, you can try to predict how people will behave and what will happen… But in the end, they just do whatever they want.

But I have to say, not this time! Our plan actually worked. The organizers were happy, people spread out naturally throughout the area, and every room, workshop, and so on was packed! Well, well... it couldn't have gone better.

People didn't mention it, but during the workshops, when we were setting up the chairs, we were talking about how one room had 80 chairs set up and the other had almost 100, and in the end, we brought down more chairs than there were stacked on top of each other, so you can imagine how big the crowd was. Personally, one of the people I introduced who I was really looking forward to seeing speak was my good friend Wajari, but in the end, between having to step out to run some errands and so many people wanting to get in, I gave up my spot. Thank goodness we have WordPressTV so we can watch all the videos at our leisure 🙂

Well, it’s Friday, and I’m off to the hills… Anyway, on Friday we finished setting everything up—what a workout! We walked over 14 km! Well, at WordCamp, I walked a total of 34.3 km, even though I usually walk next to nothing.

After setting up all the booths with tables and everything else so the sponsors could set up their displays while the welcome bags were being put together, I took the opportunity to wrap the little gifts for the speakers—thank goodness I had a seat.

The volunteers, led by the amazing Maylen—well, and everyone else who was there—started by filling the Swags first with everything we had from the organization, and then when the sponsors arrived, we formed another line to fill another 700 bags! I’m just saying this in case anyone finds that something is missing… so they’ll understand that we might have overlooked it 😅

 

Dinner for Speakers, Sponsors, and Organizers

Well, as the day was coming to an end, it was time to head out for dinner at a spectacular spot Axel found in Plaza de España. It was actually pretty great—a couple of hours that flew by in no time at all, since you get to reconnect with all these amazing people we’re seeing again. And we got to meet so many new people and finally meet in person with many more.

To be honest, we called it a night early, since we had to be back there the next day at 8:00 a.m. On the way back, I got to know Yannick better; I dropped him off at his hotel and took Tellado to his car, which was parked at La Nave.

Well, as usual the day before, Maylen and I stayed up until 2 a.m. chatting while I was finalizing the presenters' schedules.

WordCamp Madrid 2023 kicks off

Well, the day got off to a strong start, welcoming the sponsors as they arrived, along with our fellow organizers, and together we gradually took care of the few remaining tasks needed to open the doors. Meanwhile, Maylen, the youngest member of the organizing team, once again made me incredibly proud—I’d said she was the best choice for that role because she’d done such a great job in Griñón. Here she is, giving everyone the necessary instructions after having put together an excellent plan.

When organizing a WordCamp, all departments are intrinsically connected, and success or failure is a common occurrence.

Every team is incredibly important—the volunteers, the program, the catering, the venue, the speakers… As I see it, everything depends on everyone else for the event to go smoothly. And even if some people haven’t been able to give 100% in the months leading up to it, that’s normal, since we all have our day jobs and often have to juggle things to make time. But when WordCamp day finally arrives… EVERYONE gives it their all.

The thing is, organizing a WordCamp—in my opinion—helps you build a much stronger, lifelong connection with all of them, at least for me. And then you see the volunteers, who’ve traveled from places outside Madrid and who’ll do whatever it takes without hesitation… well, that’s just amazing.

I’d love to name many of the organizers I’ve spent the most time, nerves, and sweat with, but I don’t want to leave anyone out—and then there are some, like the team at Redes with the charming, smiling Carlota, who might not seem like it, but man, they put in a workload that’s mind-blowing.

This whole team has been led by a true fighter—in every sense of the word, not just in the ways we all know—an exceptional person who always has a smile on her face, keeps us in the loop about everything, and makes the best decisions every time. She’s as stubborn as they come 😘, but that’s exactly what makes her so strong in her decisions.

But look, the area really comes together—with the great Dani Serrano and the TVs, beanbag chairs, and so on—it seems to be working. I think it’s a good choice for such a large WordCamp.

Carla, I just want to thank you for letting me join you at this year's WordCamp Madrid.

And, as at every WordCamp, we took a group photo.

And of course, I also got to meet many Sabandijers, though not for as long as I would have liked.

And, of course, seeing and getting to know several Elemenpros again

The WordCamp Madrid Party

After all the talks in the four zones, food, drinks, raffles sponsored by the organizers, and the boss’s farewell speech, the “Verbena Madrileña” kicked off with a 360-degree photo booth, chulapos dancing the chotis, a DJ, handkerchiefs, and carnations. Honestly, we had a blast.

Contributor Day

Well, even though it didn't seem like it, Sunday finally rolled around. This time we were able to sleep in a little longer and get there around 9:00 a.m. We had to set up the work tables, and, well, at various points it felt like we were playing "musical chairs," haha. In the end, it turned out more or less as we’d expected, but as Tellado said, we’d make the final adjustments based on how many people signed up for each table.

Regardless of whether or not we made any progress today, and regardless of the pizzas we had afterward, something happened today that, unfortunately and unintentionally, has only served to strengthen our sense of community. One of the volunteers, Arancha Saénz—who, among many other things, was part of the social media team— Well, she left her cell phone in the bathroom, and some thief turned it off and took it.

"Friend," I'm just telling you that karma is real—it's not some made-up story.

But anyway, as I was saying, in the wake of this terrible incident and thanks to the initiative of the wonderful Carlota, a crowdfunding campaign was launched. Before anyone had a chance to find out about it, in just a few hours more than 40 people had raised over €1,000.

Well, just like I said in the Spoiler, I had a great time—I really enjoyed it. It was wonderful getting to know each and every one of you, the WordCamp Madrid family, on a more personal level. Carla, you’re amazing, and so is Antonio.

Griñón 2024 has already been approved and will take place on November 22 and 23, 2024. I’ll be the lead organizer again and have lots of ideas in mind, so I hope to see you all there. I’m not saying much, but I’m saying it all—I encourage you to sign up to find out as soon as tickets are available, since they’ll definitely be limited. WordCamp Griñón 2024

As I’ve been saying throughout this article, organizing a WordCamp helps you build friendships and makes you appreciate this community and its people even more—so I encourage you to get involved.

Many thanks to Carla, Juanma, Fernando Tellado, Santiago Cerro, Axel, Carlos Bravo, Carlota, Elena, Gaby, Javier Salinas, Juan Oro, Maylen, Miguel, Raquel, Ohia, David Mota, Merche Salas, Galati, Irene, Pablo Poveda, Nilo, Antonio, Susana, Maribel, Oscar, Natalia, Julián, Lucía, Fran, Alejandra, Ryan, Cesar, Álvaro, Mónica, Isaac, Alex, Fede, and Antonio. 

Many thanks to all the sponsors for placing their trust in WordCamp Madrid and my sponsorship team. Thank you to GoDaddy, Hostinger, LucusHost, Motive, SiteGround, Weglot, WordPress.com, Arsys, Piensasolutions, Profesional Hosting, Raiola, YITH, Sered, Dinhosting, Hoswedaje, Modular DS, Webempresa, WooCommerce, WPML, Bluehost, one.com, bubuku_code, Dani Serrano, Join Chat, Lawwing Mumbler, Sin Oficina, Sirvelia, Super Shipping, andeveryone who contributed in kind by doing their part.

By the way, a big thank you to the photography team—they take amazing photos!