Madrid No Frills

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Lavapiés’ food banks keep going: sun, rain or snow

22 January 2021

When Mario talks about the snow, he can’t help but smile. He’s from Romania, and has been living in Madrid for the past eight years, but on the streets of Fuencarral for the past two after losing his job as a truck driver.

“I’m tired”: our naïve nostalgia for Madrid’s no-frills bars

11 January 2021

I’m proud to say that I grew up frequenting the neighbourhood bars of La Latina with my dad, and I have fond memories of their no-frills charm. But it took me many years living abroad in Denmark to appreciate the cultural richness of my barrio, and it came mixed with nostalgia and grief at the places that had closed.

Housing

How Madrid’s social housing crisis turns paying tenants into “illegal squatters”

27 December 2020

Let's take a look at Colonia de los Olivos (Colony of Olive Trees), which was built hastily in 1947 to accommodate a post-war migration boom in Madrid. Around 1,000 people have called these temporary blocks their home until their phased demolition more than half a century later, which is still not complete.

History

Visit Spain in the 1970s via a box of postcards found in El Rastro

9 December 2020

Instagram account Visit Spain 1970 arose from an accidental discovery of tourist materials from the 1960s and 1970s found in a Rastro bookstore earlier this year.

Culture

The House of Suitcases

4 December 2020

"Is it busy out there?" asks Isabelle, owner of La Casa de Maletas in El Rastro. That day was the first day of the Rastro for eight months, since the pandemic shut Europe's largest open-air flea market down in the second week of March.

Housing

The Cañada Real: “Electricity is not a privilege, it’s a right”

28 November 2020

On 2 October, a power outage left around 1,000 houses in a Madrid neighbourhood without electricity. Almost 60 days later, the lines have still not been repaired – a situation that seems hard to believe, except for the fact that this neighbourhood is Sector 6 of the Cañada Real.

History

Discover the juxtaposed remains of Madrid’s 170-year-old aqueduct

26 November 2020

Along the Avenida de Pablo Iglesias in the north-west barrio of Buenas Vistas lies the aqueduct of Amaniel, a half-buried vestige of one of the most important engineering projects ever made in Spain.

Culture

The Madrid No Frills Prints Collection

12 November 2020

Madrid No Frills is finally selling prints! Orders processed within one day, prints available to collect within three days or posted to your home within one week!

The little pastry shop celebrating Madrid’s changing seasons

9 November 2020

“The best pastelería in Madrid” is a bold claim, with the potential to spark messy cream fights. But a good argument can be made that El Artesano, a small pastry shop in Ventas serving the local community for over 50 years, is an honest contender.

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The power and art of protest photography

6 November 2020

The sun sets at around 4 pm in Warsaw, so it's dark by the time protestors can leave their offices, schools and factories. As soon as they're out of work, they wrap up warm, often in black and red, and head to the streets to protest against the patriarchal ruling class.

History

The story of Madrid’s hidden (and noseless) Virgin Mary statue

30 October 2020

Worn paths strewn with broken bricks, bits of marble, litter and syringes crisscross the dusty land behind the building’s graffiti-scrawled bricks. A small temple-like structure draws the eye to the highest point. Inside it stands a battered five-foot tall white marble statue of the Virgin Mary, votive candles and carefully tended five-gallon buckets of red roses at her feet.

Culture

Madrid’s Human Beehive

26 October 2020

During lockdown, the nightly applause for healthcare workers here must have been epic. Thousands of people opened their windows onto their wide, windy boulevards and, for a few minutes, clapped as one giant entity within Spain's biggest human beehive.

The churrerías preserving Madrid’s disappearing street food culture

22 October 2020

These stubborn little tin huts that churn out churros hold the torch of Madrid's street food culture. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and our new desire for outdoor eating, they're a way of life that may well return!

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Life under lockdown in a Greek refugee camp

19 October 2020

"There's nothing to do", explains Nabil (not his real name). "We just wake up, eat and sleep". Nabil, a 22-year-old Syrian refugee, has been living in the Nea Kavala camp in northern Greece, just next to the Macedonian border for almost one year.

Culture

Celebrating the voices of Barrio La Guindalera

9 October 2020

La Guindalera's traditional high streets and beautiful no-frills bars set it apart from its upmarket neighbour of Salamanca, writes Suzanne McCullagh, a resident and advocate of the area.