La Movida sigue viva en Malasaña: La Pelu de Iván
Iván, es un heredero de este movimiento contra-cultural, que se desarrolló en gran parte en Malasaña.
Parallel worlds: saving Buenos Aires’ no-frills bars
Earlier this year, I discovered that I had a long-lost twin in Buenos Aires: Bar de Viejes. This is an Instagram account that was born out of a desire of one person to document the beautiful old Buenos Aires bars, especially those that are under-appreciated and disappearing.
The ancient shepherds’ pass that runs through central Madrid
Tomorrow, all cars and buses will be diverted from the city centre, and shepherds will herd their flocks through Madrid. In a spectacle witnessed by lots of confused onlookers, hundreds of sheep will stroll through our grandest boulevards.
Down the rabbit hole into Madrid’s 100-year-old metro system
In 1919 – the year of its inauguration – Madrid’s metro consisted of just one line with eight charming little stations. Exactly 100 years later, this vast subterranean labyrinth is the seventh-longest underground system in the world and hosts around two million journeys every day.
Porto No Frills
Let me take you to Porto, where I share with you all my no-frills discoveries, ghost trails and touchable portals to the darkest era of Portugal's past.
A stroll through La Latina’s ‘memory lane’
There are few streets in Madrid with such a well preserved traditional shopping district. Green grocers, bodegas, a coal merchant's and a wicker store are just some of the living museums I found on the short stretch of Calle Calatrava and its surrounding streets.
10 rainy-day activities in Madrid (for people who don’t like museums)
It's raining but perhaps you've already been to all the museums, or maybe you just fancy something a bit less obvious such as spending the afternoon in a mercado, doing a no-frills bar crawl around a barrio you haven't visited before, exploring the labyrinthine tunnels of the old tobacco factory or finally enjoying it being cool enough to eat hearty food again! Here are 10 rainy-day activities that you won't find anywhere else on the Madrinternet...
No frills, nostalgia and resistance at Madrid’s summer Fiestas
An elderly woman dressed in all black is straddling the wrong side of a first-floor balcony. Standing up there with her is another elderly woman wearing a floral smock, bellowing unsolicited advice about how her friend should tie up the bunting. Fierce high-rise arguing descending into laughing, and I watch on in horror yet reassurance that, somehow, these ladies have got it handled. After all, it is quite possibly their 90th year of decorating the streets.
Madrid’s secret art city in an abandoned military barracks
One of the sites where Franco’s army would learn to build railroads, bridges and trenches now hosts an army of Madrid’s underground artists. Welcome to Zapadores (trenchers), Madrid's City of Art.
Latest obsession: Urban Sky Frames
What is an urban sky frame? It's a worm's-eye view centring around the sky, almost seamlessly framed by urban structures (a term invented right here, right now).
Meet Madrid’s veteran micromerchants
They're perfectly placed should you spontaneously decide to get your shoes shined, grab a bag of chestnuts or pick up a newspaper, but these gifts of the street are rewarded only to those who slow down. Allow yourself an extra five minutes to get to the nearest no-frills bar, and you'll witness our streets come alive with a multi-generational community of micro shops.
Haunting exhibition of the places Madrid has lost
Welcome to the untimely ossuary of Madrid's extinct shops, bars and restaurants – an emotive collection of defunct signage from Madrid's long-lost traditional businesses.
Behind the gates of Madrid’s secret, historical gardens
Our city gardens are something to be treasured dearly, with so many being lost over the years. Hundreds of grassy nooks and micro orchards have become victim to our ever-expanding metropolis, leaving those that remain with an almost mythical status.
Welcome to Madrid’s underground music scene
What's popular on the Spanish radio is a world away from what's cooking beneath the surface. Funk, flamenco, Latin jazz and trap have all leapt into the limelight, but there's a part of Madrid's music scene that stubbornly resists going mainstream, even if it might be growing.
Miss Beige: “I dare to be who I am”
Meet Miss Beige, a feminist, anarchist madrileña after all our hearts. She's a common girl living in her own beige world, and she'll spit pipas at anyone who tells her to smile.