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Madrid No Frills

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Latest obsession: confessionals

I've got a confession to make: I'm a little bit obsessed with confessionals. I suspect this might be one of the weirdest things a priest could ever be told through a latticed window, but although I have no intention of repenting my curiosity-related sins, an explanation might be helpful…
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Faro Vallecano: a beautiful, no-frills diner in Vallecas

The sun pours through the smokey windows of this upstairs diner and is intercepted by half a dozen coconut palms, casting exotic shadows on the terrazzo floor. Everything – and I mean everything – is a shade of brown, as it has been since its last refurb a few decades ago.
Aleppo baklava
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Around the world in 10 Embajadores eateries

Emerge from Lavapiés’ metro into the Mediterranean Maghreb. Meander through its narrow, winding streets lined with candy-coloured facades and Juliette balconies, and catch a glimpse of the Middle East and Africa, but also Asia, Latin America and of course, Madrid.
Underground © La Escalera de Jacob
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Magic beneath the streets of Lavapiés

In a dark cellar, just around the corner from the Lavapiés dungeon, a young Madrileño is enchanting people with his magic three times a week. His spellbinding illusions may not have been thrust onto the underground stage at all had it not been for hard times, but this sombre era in Spanish history is inspiring a new movement and Carlos Devanti is a driving force behind it.
A bench with armrests in Lavapiés
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Secrets of the streets: Madrid’s anti-homeless architecture

Anti-homeless architecture is often disguised as useful features for pedestrians, but it secretly doubles up as defence against rough sleepers. Big money goes into making the most beautiful parts of Madrid hostile towards the homeless, and examples of these disturbing installations can be found everywhere you look. 
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100 of Madrid’s no-frills bars

I've forever found no-frills bars inspiring spaces. They're gateways to Madrid's working-class soul, and are unpretentiously beautiful, just like the city. They're also where Madrid No Frills was born, propping up the bar with a caña and a tapa and listening to the owner's story.
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Discover the dark messages hidden in Madrid’s street art

Although street art is deeply connected with gentrification, it often gives a voice to the precisely the victims of it. The spray-painted murals adorning the walls of Madrid speak truths – truths that the passionate graffiti hunter Gerardo taught me how to read. In the secret messages left behind by graffiti writers, I saw not only themes of suffering and discrimination but also a growing backlash against them.
The slum occupies land owned by Adif
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Madrid’s hidden city slums

Under the first beam of sunlight on 3 October, diggers began tearing through people's bedroom walls. By mid afternoon, around 50 makeshift homes had been razed to the ground, and around 80 people had been moved on.
A 3D model of an old bag, wicker and hemp shop on Cava Baja
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A miniature ode to Madrid’s disappearing antique facades

Recent exhibition La Tienda de la Esquina (The Corner Shop) celebrates Madrid's beautiful antique facades. But, given these old shops are an increasingly endangered species in the Madrid streetscape, you may find yourself cynically wondering if these sculptures are actually miniature death masks.
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The ‘secret’ Lavapiés jazz club

Those hermetic voile curtains are partly to preserve Café El Despertar's clandestine atmosphere, they're but mostly there to deter the naive walk-in customer. The steely elderly owner, with his enviable beard, is interested only in clientele who are specifically here for his jazz music, and most certainly not the police, who, for good reason, he constantly fears.
The Lavapiés concierge, María de las Mercedes
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Tales of a Lavapiés concierge

As well as cleaning, receiving post, and providing comfort and security to her residents, María has invaluable long-term knowledge of her building. She knows every square inch, who has lived here and who has died here. She knows things you wish you knew, and things you're glad you don't.
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15 Madrid jobs that no longer exist

From river launderettes and crucifix carpenters to streetlamp lighters and tinsmiths – in just the last few decades, countless jobs that had existed for centuries have disappeared.  Let's take a glimpse of these lost trades and professions, because there's a lot we can see in what no longer exists.
A view out onto Plaza Nelson Mandela
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Mandela 100: emblematic Senegalese diner opens on Plaza Nelson Mandela

Hearty, home-cooked Senegalese food rolls out of the kitchen fast at Mandela 100, which is owned by Mamadou from Senegal. His Africa-themed diner has hit the ground running, much to the delight – and relief – of Lavapiés locals, because it's not just quality that can be found here; it's also equality.