Alternative ways to Latinize
La Latina, that place. It adds as many followers as there are allergies, the same ones who every Sunday impose a restraining order on themselves from the neighborhood previously known for its artistic and bohemian side. Nevertheless, Madrid's epicenter of hangovers hides much of its charm behind the domes of the Mercado de la Cebada, the mammoth emblem of the facelift of the neighbourhood.
At the risk of upsetting the spirit of the neighbors and irreversibly damage the calm of this great network of streets, I declare my love without blushing to this other face of La Latina, rich in traditional twists, with an unbridled attachment to retro, background music from the last century and that partisan spirit that without complexes alternates newly minted beers with nineteenth-century tapas. An extravagant Cañí route that debates between avant-garde taverns run by a troupe of artists, charming Caribbean taverns and emblematic bars with decades of bottles and fritanga behind their backs.
The B-side of La Latina contains previously unreleased tracks.
Fanzines and tote bags at Café Molar
MORE GRAIN THAN STRAW
Barley Market Since its inauguration in 1875, the 6,000 square meters of the market, spread over two floors, supply locals and onlookers. A little over four years ago, the city council decreed the demolition of the infinitely traditional La Latina market and it has been the group of neighbors Campo de la Cebada in charge of standing up to the municipal order with a cultural initiative that rides outside the law. The adjoining swimming pool and gym have disappeared (they could not get rid of them), the site has been occupied by a diverse community of parishioners who share days of rest and reflection sheltered in wooden structures, metal platforms and half-demolished walls in what could be the exorbitant film set of Synecdoche, New York.
Last October, the group of urban artists BoaMistura intervened the 4,800 square meters of domes of the building, which today houses about a hundred active positions. Without wishing to detract from the artistic feat, today this capital and colorful mural of urban art (the largest in our geography) is exhibited as a neighborhood harangue against speculation and the blindness of a city council that seems to have lost the notion of hygiene and sense of smell. Although what remains of the market is doomed to disappear, the atmosphere that radiates from this unique outdoor space invites optimism.
Theater in the Campo de la Cebada
MODERN NEIGHBORHOOD
The Goat on the Roof (Santa Ana, 31) Once upon a time there was a Swiss man and a Belgian woman who met in Brussels. Between pint and pint they dreamed of the goat on the roof of Madrid. The result? A bar with a sixties aesthetic, with its metal bar and Pollock-patterned tiles, without prawn heads on the floor and with an array of five-star gins: Bulldog, Martin Miller's, Seagram and Blackwood's. Some talk about their carrot cakes (€3.60 portion), for which more than one would queue, others venerate the portions of Idiazábal cheese with dried tomatoes (€3.60), a rarity in these parts and I fall in love with the sea of Portuguese bottles of Super Bock for one euro. Plus? A festival of freshly made crêpes and toasts that flirt with a superb selection of Spanish wine. They speak: "La Cabra en el Tejado is one of the cosmopolitan, traditional and bohemian neo-taverns that have populated Lavapiés and La Latina for a couple of years."
The Granddaughter Carmela (Humilladero, 3) It has everything to conquer the radar of the aware hipster: collective wooden tables, sepia lighting, peeling walls intervened with markers, canvases and photographs as an exhibition and a beautiful structure assembled with pieces of old wooden doors. Above it, there is a bar where the thirds of Mahou, Alhambra, Sol and a good repertoire of craft beers from Madrid (Virgen, Cibeles, Veer) run.
So much creativity is no accident. In front, a group of friends who are students of Fine Arts who, two years ago, set it up with a handful of recycled furniture, part of their incipient work and a lot of imagination. Under the sign, a phrase: To play with time. Well that.
The Granddaughter Carmela
N of T (Tabernillas, 15) Faces that sound in this coquettish tavern in Tabernillas. A digestible hubbub, a wide bar on white brick and theatrical lighting (what light bulbs!) suddenly turn a cold space into a cozy living room. In the background, jazz, rhythm and blues, funky. In front, parishioners dispense generous slices of three-chocolate cake and level gin and tonics, one of the reasons for being of the joint. Behind the 'Note of the Translator', two theater professionals: José Bornás, director, and actor Daniel Albaladejo, both from Murcia.
** Barrio Alto ** (Humilladero 16) This coffee bar, opposite La Nieta Carmela, is run by the English Mark and the Portuguese Miguel. British influence materializes in a portentous display of premium gins (from €5), the Portuguese influence is shared between the delicious coffee, the double Super Bock (€2) and its lamps, chosen personally by Miguel. **He also owns the Martínez Bar cocktail bar and the In Situ restaurant, ** both in Triball.
Inspired by the beautiful Lisbon neighborhood of the same name, he has been dedicated to a clientele that lowers the average shouting of the environment and the average of that well-understood modernity rises. They have won over the neighbors with a real parquet floor (with their tattoos and streaks), for more than honest prices and for that aroma of butter at snack time, while the Cry me a river of the great Ella Fitzgerald. A treat.
Barrio Alto, in Humilladero
** La Bambola ** (Calatrava 6) She is to blame for everything Patty Pravo ** (and his epic song).** It was on March 8, 2012 when Alberto Galino dared to recreate the retro aesthetic of the decade that elevated the Venetian artist to blonde goddess heaven. To the beat of black and white videos, a soundtrack is heard that would make Toni of Cuéntame himself happy: a review of the Italian and French music of the sixties, as well as Rafael, Rafaella Carrá... and any melody from before 1988.
Vintage winks like the furniture, recycled and recovered from rakes, a collection of bicolor Technicolor star posters and the wallpaper, a stylish eccentricity from Lithuania. At the bar, 21st century concoctions are tasted: Ambar de tap and a good selection of thirds. Here you drink more than you eat. In that, the Madrid night has hardly changed.
** Café Molar ** (Ruda, 19) The bookstore-cafeteria-exhibition hall-place to be seen and loved it has received accolades since its opening less than two years ago. Upstairs, wooden tables and shelves displaying publications for almost any reader (graphic novels, comics, erotic literature, novelties edited with care...). His bizarre collection of fanzines responds to Berlin canons. In the background, they serve coffee with pastries and throw some perfect beers, in front of a mezzanine full of fripperies for freaks and museum vinyl, as well as a nice collection of tote bags that drives festival goers so crazy.
In the basement celebrate births and divorces, exhibit works of art, They present any intellectual whim in society, they give DJ sessions and intervene walls, facade or glass whose artists are usually intimate.
** Marilina Bar ** (Calatrava, 13) "You come to Marilina to drink." The Maluca (Marilina for a few months) has been quenching the thirst of those who come already for dinner for ten years. Or not. Just in case, they'll liven up your cocktail with large bowls of popcorn. It works as a cocktail bar from Monday to Saturday. It cleans up on Sundays, with bar hours. Perhaps a good time to try some of their preserves and nachos with cheese.
The roof of the Barley Market intervened by BoaMistura
MORE THAN METHUSLAHEM
Antonio House (Plaza de la Cebada, 12) Any self-respecting neighborhood in the historic center has an Asturian restaurant. The man from La Cebada is called Antonio. The big day is Thursday: they serve beers for one euro and bottles of cider for €3 (from 18.30 to 24). Their 100% Asturian meat cachopos and Tineo chocos with goat cheese are accompanied either with culines or with Mahou. and point.
**Casa Gerardo (or Almacén de Vinos) ** (Calatrava, 21) Casa Gerardo is to La Latina what La Ardosa is to Malasaña. The quintessential tavern. Marble on the tables, wood on the chairs, white light and walls that equally worship the Virgen de la Paloma and the Atleti. The owners do not skimp on glasses of siphon vermouth, craft beers (Domus and Cibeles) and nickel-plated Mahou beers and always married with tapas (cheese, ham, cecina...). An impeccable national wine list (glasses are less than €3) is the prelude to its specialty: toasts, whose secret is in 'the dough'.
** Muñiz ** (Calatrava, 3) The best thing is its glass facade, one of the few that remain in the center, so Fernando León de Aranoa. The picture is eloquent: soccer on the screen, a fresco of the Virgin on indigo tiles and 30-somethings dressed in plaid shirts who dip their indie beards in Mahou doubles. To eat? **A whole arsenal of portions (fried, marinated, stewed) ** made with the same recipe since its opening. It is said, it is said that you have to try their tortilla and the ear dish. In the winery run by the third generation of the Muñiz family you will never go hungry: the lid touches in its own right, the Mahou ice cream 'bottle' as well.
Exhibition at Cafe Molar
THE CARIBBEAN MOVEMENT
latin sympathy (Calatrava, 26) Between the genuineness of the Latin and the contagious euphoria of the Dominicans, the Sympathy He has quite a handful of fans. The tiny bar lives up to its name with a generous riot of smiles and Caribbean prices. With the help of meringue, they elaborate enthusiastic Caribbean recipes, from a 'sancochito' to the pica chicken, cornerstone of Dominican gastronomy.
The ash (Calatrava, 10). Compadres and compatriots of Sympathy take advantage of the warm months in the city, when they open their doors wide and the notes of bachata and salsa flow through Calatrava. Here you will know what real ones are Venezuelan arepas (€5) and a chicken pica (€12). In addition, you can order sancocho, yucca, fried plantain and other specialties from the tropics. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, the third to one euro.
Can you ask for more?
Uptown