Madrid, Spain
The heart of Madrid, the Plaza Mayor, is surrounded by 136 houses built in the 17th century. These home have been passed down through generations of the same family. For two centuries, the plaza served as the city’s chief forum for beheading, bullfights, and the canonization of saints. One of the world’s grandest palaces, the Royal palace was completed in 1764.
Contemporary Madrid came into its own after the death of the Fascist dictator Franco. Years of the Franco regime left Madrid and much the country in economic shambles due to isolation. With his death, Madrid, and Spain as a whole, began to re-assert itself on the international stage. Within Spain, reaction against the dictatorial bureaucracy centered in Madrid and a history of centralism that pre-dated Franco by centuries has resulted in the successful modern movement towards increased autonomy for the regions of Spain, considered as European regions, under the umbrella of Spain
Madrid is also noted for its nightlife and discotheques. It’s not uncommon for madrileños to dance all night, head to the Chocolateria San Ginés for chocolate y churros at dawn, go home, shower, shave, and go to work. This nightlife, called la movida and initially focused on the Plaza del Dos de Mayo, flourished after the death of Franco, especially during the 80s while Madrid’s most cherished mayor Enrique Tierno Galván was in office. A particular hub for this night activity is nowadays the nearby gay village of Chueca.
The Madrilenos don’t have dinner until ten or eleven in the evening. To quench hunger until that late dinner hour, they enjoy a light snack called tapa. Tapa can be king crabs, blood red, large as soccer balls; tiny squid cooked in their purplish ink; bull’s testicles sauteed in garlic; slivers of chewy air-cured ham; suckling pig, roasted in old ceramic wood-burning ovens; grilled flounder; fried hake, red snapper encrusted with salt and then baked; garlic soup, and tripe stew.
Madrid’s famous art museum is the Prado. Spanish works of Goya and El Greco compose the bulk of the Prado’s collection and of course there are paintings by the prolific Picasso. Hundreds of Italian and Dutch Renaissance pieces are displayed-–mostly bought with New World gold by the kings of Spain.
Madrid is also host to one of the most famous bullfighting rings in the world, Las Ventas.
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