Madrid No Frills

History

‘Pateras: the shame of Europe’: Barbate Port exhibits collection of abandoned migrant boats

26 June 2023

In 2018, the small port of Barbate in Cádiz hosted an eerie exhibition of disused pateras (small boats). The Town Hall’s plan was to raise public awareness around the phenomenon of irregular immigration and the human drama for people who risk their lives to cross the Strait.

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The Melilla Massacre one year on

24 June 2023

As of today, 70 people are still missing, 22 remain in the Nador morgue and at least 37 were killed. Even though the Guardia Civil claimed to have had blood-soaked uniforms during the incident, none of them were harmed.

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A brief history of Spain’s slave trade via Callejón de los Negros, Cádiz

13 June 2023

We don’t know for sure what the origin of the famous Callejón de los Negros (Alley of the Blacks) is, but from the port, this street is the closest access route into the historic centre of Cádiz, and therefore was perhaps the main street through which slaves would commute.

Housing

Ley Vivienda: Spain’s new housing law summarised

20 May 2023

The Ley de Vivienda is a brand-new housing law, the first of its kind in Spain, created by the current government. It is Podemos candidate Alejandra Jacinto who pushed for this law and who is hoping, if voted for, to have the powers to enforce it in the Comunidad de Madrid.

Climate

Firefighters from across Spain demonstrate in Madrid to demand law to streamline services

18 May 2023

On Tuesday 16 May, around 5000 firefighters from Coordinadora Unitaria de Bomberos Profesionales (CUBP) travelled from all over Spain to the capital to demonstrate their frustrations over government delays in updating a law that, if approved, would allow firefighting services across the country to tackle incidents based on which unit is closest.

Culture

San Isidro Fiestas in photos: no downpour can stop this fiesta!

15 May 2023

After months of drought, Madrid's skies chose the weekend of the San Isidro festival to be the day it poured down over the city. Despite momentarily rushing to shelter in food tents and under pine trees, or even under picnic blankets with complete strangers, nothing could stop the Fiestas San Isidro, as you can see in these photos!

Culture

Las Mayas: A spectacularly revived 16th-century festival in Lavapiés

7 May 2023

Each year, the barrio of Lavapiés selects a few young girls between ages six and 15 to sit on the makeshift but highly decorated altars surround the popular church of San Lorenzo.

El Horno de Encomienda: three generations of Lavapiés patissiers

14 April 2023

"My abuelo opened this place 90 years ago, before the Spanish Civil War. During the war, people used to come here to collect their rations of flour and my abuelo would have to sign their rations cards.

Climate

Madrid is experiencing a deadly climate crisis but the council continues to make a series of dangerous moves

19 February 2023

In winter 2021, Madrid experienced the worst snowstorm in 300 years and lost around 80,000 trees. A year later, the city council planted 90,620 saplings, but by summer – the city's hottest on record – 77% of them had died. Ecologistas en Acción explained: “They left the saplings abandoned and without watering at the height of summer,” rightly claiming that this mass recklessness could and should have been prevented.

Bar Vietnam: the beating heart of barrio San Cristóbal

13 February 2023

It's one of those perfectly no-frills bars where you can get Valdepeñas wine – for ¢80. When I shared these photos on social media, comments came pouring in. The unassuming no-frills bar in Barrio San Cristobal that I'd stumbled across quite by accident turns out to be in the hearts of so many of you. Here's a small selection.

Housing

Are landlords just low-key colonialists?

7 February 2023

As a long-term renter not out of choice, this is pretty much how I see it. But there are fundamental differences and multiple discriminatory factors at play.

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Guide for foreigners: How to register to vote in the Madrid Municipal elections

2 January 2023

Madrid's Municipal elections are on Sunday, May 28, 2023. If you're an EU citizen or from the following countries, you have the right to vote! Bolivia, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Kingdom.

Housing

Arson attack on occupied building triggers mass eviction of vulnerable residents

30 December 2022

A residential building owned by the state-owned ‘bad bank’ SAREB was deliberately set on fire on Wednesday morning in what is set to become the most violent mass eviction in Spain since the 2008 crisis began.

Housing

Never-before-seen photos of Vallekas’ mid-century housing before the entire barrio was razed

12 December 2022

"I was not a professional but I managed to take regular photos and, above all, to give them life. I feel happy because if I hadn't been there, these photos wouldn't exist. A story that is not documented or photographed does not exist."

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Spain prepares to pass the first menstrual leave law in Europe – but there is still work to be done

8 December 2022

In a European first, Spain is to pass a landmark menstrual leave law, mandating that workers suffering from severe period pain will be entitled to an extra five days of sick leave per month.