It’s 30 years since I lived in Madrid but I have returned every few years and it is a city I feel a strong connection with. When I go there I will often go to an exhibition or two but I rarely discover a gem of an area that I wasn’t aware of (or in this case that wasn’t previously there!).
My friend Elena lives just south of the river, traditionally a poor area – perhaps a bit like my own south east London! Well in spite of Spain’s parlous economic state, the Madrid local authority have done a wonderful thing to improve the whole down at heel suburbs along the banks of the Manzanares. They have put the M30 (a sort of cross between the south circular and the M25) underground and developed a huge park along both sides of the river which goes for miles. This has all happened in the last two years and it is truly glorious.
I went for a long walk through this park alongside the Manzanares. You can walk either side of the river and there are many pedestrian bridges straddling the river so you can easily cross onto the sunny side or the shady side as is your wont. It’s perfect for cyclists – nowhere else in Madrid is!! – there is a skate park, several caf�’s, lots and lots of trees, some formal planting, fountains, an exhibition of large photographs – views of Spain’s national parks, and weirdly long wooden benches that fascinated and amused me (see pic).
In the summer it must be full of chattering Madrilenos, but on a dull November weekday there was just a smattering of folks. It was wonderful to see such a vast open space in what is a very dense and bustling city, and an area designed for ordinary people which improves the quality of their lives. So hurrah for the Madrid authorities – and let’s hope they manage to pay for it one day (apparently they are hugely in debt).
I didn’t like their modernist metal spiral bridge although I found it difficult exactly to say why. It is something to go with the way it fails to blend into, or complement the landscape. Like it has just been plonked there as something “modern” on the basis that we all like “modern”.
However the “Puente invernadero” – or “greenhouse bridge” so named because if it’s location near a kind of mini Kew, is wonderful. A bit like an upturned boat, it is simple, elegant and has beautiful retro styling: the railings are like something from the Royal Festival Hall. It also has mosaic images on the underside that you see as you walk through. These are photo realistic pictures of skateboarders and “young people” and are just great (see images). I crossed the Puente invernadero to get to an area on the north side of the river called Legazpi. A very old and poor neighbourhood of Madrid it was home to Madrid’s “matadero” – from the verb “matar” to kill (hence matador – killer) or municipal abattoir.
It has been transformed (mainly though the work continues as it is a huge site) into a cultural center. The original buildings are lovely: red brick with stone infill, and decorated with strips of blue and green traditional tiles. They are quite quite lovely. There is a gallery space, a book centre, dance and performance areas – pretty much everything. Nothing was open that day till 4pm so I just wandered round the buildings. They have used long plastic strips in the main entrances which you have to push your way through – keeping the link with the building’s original purpose, and there is the same industrial look in the toilets with concrete and pipework all on display – it is very stylish and apt. It celebrates the modern and also the past as well as looking very trendy.
I loved the Matadero and look forward to strolling there on a spring afternoon when it is bathed in sunshine – and I can enjoy a beer on a terrace.
Great to see Madrid reinventing itself, and doing it so very well – ole!
