MNF > Articles by: Madrid No Frills

Madrid No Frills

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Photographers of the Future 2025 course enrolment now open!

- Affordable in-person Photography course in the heart of Lavapiés, Madrid - Three 2.5-hour evening classes over three consecutive weeks - All levels welcome, no professional equipment needed - Language: English - In-house drinks and networking after every class - Early-bird price until 31 March
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Giant abandoned bodega in Valencia set to become brand-new barrio

An abandoned winery the size of a football stadium stands on the coast of Valencia in the northern area of Alboraia. Built in 1969 during the region’s industrial heyday, this redbrick complex once held up to 32 million litres of wine. It was among the first Spanish wineries to export abroad and, at its peak, a quarter of all wine leaving Spain passed through here.
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Photos of Paiporta four months after the catastrophic Valencia floods

I've seen very little on the news about progress in the flood-hit areas of Valencia, so I was curious to head back there to report on this myself. The clean-up operations by volunteers and public services have been incredible. At first glance, life appears to have resumed to relative normality but Paiporta so quiet.
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The hidden crisis of ‘Invisible Evictions’

Across Spain, we're facing an undeniable affordable housing crisis, where rent hikes consistently outstrip salary increases. More households than ever are struggling with housing costs, spending over 30% of our income on rent. In the whole of Madrid Centro, this is the case, yet national rent regulation laws aimed at high-tension areas are not enforced here as our regional right-wing government has opted out.
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New Year’s Eve Portrait of the Oldest Bakery in Madrid

Just around the corner from Sol, Antigua Pastelería El Pozo, on Calle Pozo, has been serving traditional pastries since 1830. The very frills bakery has kept its original frilly decor this whole time and the pastry chefs continue to use artisanal techniques.
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“If being homosexual was not a crime in Africa, we would not be in Spain”

Author and photographer: Sou Harris At the age of 10, Ali Useni, who prefers to be called Alex, was forced out of school so as not to “infect” his classmates. He had told his aunt, who he lived with after his mother passed, that when he grew up, he would like to marry a man. This confession would be the beginning of years of physical and psychological abuse that pushed him to embark on a dangerous journey from Cameroon, across North Africa and the Mediterranean, until arriving in Spain in search of safety. Cameroon is one of 64 countries that, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), criminalises homosexuality – almost half of these countries are in Africa. Prison sentences can vary between six months and five years for those who have consensual sexual relations with another person of the same sex. While Sudan repealed...
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Celebrating the Crisp Factories of Madrid

Madrid’s fábricas de patatas fritas are the savoury version of Willy Wonka’s sugary realm. Shop windows are piled high with golden crisps, and neon signs and retro toys mingle with ornate ceramic tiles and vintage fonts. These shimmering potato mountains catch the attention of every passerby as they crisp up further in the sun-soaked window display.
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Photographs of Valencia’s two historic floods: 1957 vs 2024

Going through the archives of Valencia's 1957 DANA, I realised I'd taken hauntingly similar photos just last week in Paiporta, so I decided to make direct comparisons by placing the images next to each other. What this compilation demonstrates is that the same mistakes have been made twice. Predatory urban planning ignoring the limits of our planet, combined with institutional incompetence has led to the destruction of thousands of lives, again.
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The end of La Canica – the ‘Anti-Bank’ in Madrid

An occupied bank on a main street of Madrid’s Lavapiés neighborhood was evicted after nearly a decade of operation. Following the 15M movement of 2011, sparked in large part by the collapse of banks in Spain, the many vacated premises of failed banks became prime targets for occupations. The okupa La Canica launched with a utopian anti-capitalist mission – to replace the monetary system itself with a local community-based currency.
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“Soy Tribulete 7”: Un documental en proceso, lanza una campaña de crowdfunding

Han vendido tu casa a un fondo buitre que, de repente, quiere echarte. ¿Qué harías tú? Las vecinas de Tribulete 7 emprenden un camino de resistencia que las llevará a convertirse en un símbolo de lucha por el derecho a la vivienda en el barrio.  El documental muestra cómo se han ganado el apoyo de todo el barrio, resisitiendo de una manera inspiradora y nunca vista antes.
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Legendary Lavapiés shoe shop closes permanently with a fiesta the barrio will never forget

Foreword: The building in which the oldest shoe shop in Lavapiés, Calzados Vinigon, was purchased by a vulture fund and, being unable to pay a higher rent, María Jesús has been forced to close permanently. What this shoe shop meant to the barrio echoes a story that has been told too many times in Madrid, but I'm telling it again because it is one of the many acts of resistance we have against the normalisation of the death of small businesses.