Quick answer: Malasaña is Madrid’s rebel barrio, home of the 80s Movida. Its legends: the stone fish at Calle del Pez, 24; Manuela Malasaña, the 17-year-old girl who gave the barrio its name; a street hit by lightning on a sunny day; and the 1888 Fuencarral crime, after which number 109 disappeared from the street.
Famous for La Movida Madrileña in the 80s: punk, rock, Almodóvar, big hair and zero rules. Today it’s vintage shops, rock bars, graffiti and students drinking cheap beer in the plaza. And it’s full of strange stories.
Malasaña legends you can see in the street
The fish on Calle del Pez: Blanca’s last fish
At Calle del Pez, 24, look up: between yellow bricks there’s a fish carved on the wall. Legend says there was a pond full of fish here. The owner built on it and the fish died. His daughter Blanca saved the last one, but it didn’t survive the move. Heartbroken, she became a nun, and her father carved a fish on the house to remember her.
—She became a nun because of a fish? —says la Vikinga.
—Hay quien lo ha hecho por menos —dice Puri. (Some people have done it for less.)
- Where: Calle del Pez, 24
- Metro: Noviciado (L2)
- Your Spanish: estar como pez en el agua = to feel totally at home
Who was Manuela Malasaña? The girl with the scissors
Everybody says “let’s go to Malasaña”. Almost nobody knows Malasaña was a girl. Manuela Malasaña was 17, an embroiderer who lived at Calle San Andrés, 18. She died on 2 May 1808, the day Madrid rose up against Napoleon: one version says a stray bullet, another says French soldiers shot her for carrying her sewing scissors.
The barrio was called Maravillas. In the 80s everybody started calling it by her name.
- Where: plaque at Calle San Andrés, 18
- Metro: Bilbao or San Bernardo
- Your Spanish: de armas tomar = a woman with a strong character
Calle del Espíritu Santo: lightning on a sunny day
The story says that in the 17th century lightning hit this street on a sunny day, with no storm. It destroyed houses and killed several neighbours, and the street kept the name. At number 23 lived Enrique Urquijo, singer of Los Secretos; his door is still full of messages for him.
- Where: Calle del Espíritu Santo
- Metro: Tribunal or Noviciado
- Tip: Sunday afternoon, terrace in Plaza de Juan Pujol
The Fuencarral crime: why there’s no number 109
True crime from 1888. A rich lady was found murdered in her flat at Fuencarral, 109, and the case became a national obsession. Her maid was executed in 1890 in front of 20,000 people, but nobody ever knew the whole truth.
And the detail: on Calle Fuencarral the numbers jump from 107 to 111. Number 109 disappeared. Go and look for yourself.
- Where: Calle de Fuencarral, near Glorieta de Bilbao
- Metro: Bilbao (L1, L4)
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Where to eat and drink in Malasaña
Plaza del Dos de Mayo is Malasaña’s living room: sit on a terrace and watch. Bodega de la Ardosa (Calle de Colón, 13) is famous for tortilla and vermut de grifo. At night, La Vía Láctea (Calle de Velarde, 18) is the iconic Movida bar.
Spanish you’ll need: the tortilla conversation
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Hola, ¿tenéis tortilla? | Hello, do you have tortilla? |
| Sí, tenemos. | Yes, we do. |
| Un pincho, por favor. ¿Lleva cebolla? | One portion, please. Does it have onion? |
| Sí, lleva cebolla. | Yes, it has onion. |
| Vale. Y un vermut, por favor. | Okay. And a vermouth, please. |
Tortilla with or without onion (con o sin cebolla) is a serious debate in Spain. Pick a side. Madrid will respect you.
Where do these stories come from?
I’m writing a novel about a copywriter who walks around Madrid when she can’t sleep, when a man leaves her, or when a deadline is eating her alive. Two voices walk with her: la Vikinga, who speaks English and has no filter, and Puri, who speaks Spanish and is shocked by everything. Every secret on this page is one of her walks.
The novel is Una felación al día (yes, that’s the title, and yes, it’s a novel, not self-help): a copywriter in Madrid, love, desire, friends and a mystery, all in Spanglish. When it goes on sale, this Madrid guide will come with it as an extra. For now, it’s free: download it directly from this page.
📖 Read the first chapter of Una felación al día for free. And if you’re learning Spanish, my book How to Speak Spanish with a Narco, a Philosopher and a Real Human is the next step after the guide.
More secret Madrid, barrio by barrio
- Secret Madrid: 30 Hidden Places and the Legends Behind Them
- Madrid de los Austrias: Secrets and Legends Near Sol
- La Latina, Madrid: Hidden Walls, Secret Gardens and the Best Tapas Street
- Lavapiés and Tirso de Molina: Corralas, a Severed Head and a 1916 Cinema
- Gran Vía Secrets: a Rhino, a Naked Man on the Roof and the Street of Disappointment
- Chueca Secrets: Saint Valentine’s Bones and the House of the Seven Chimneys
- Retiro and Calle de Alcalá Secrets: the Fallen Angel, the Two-Faced Gate and Tonnes of Gold
- Chamberí and Beyond: the Ghost Metro Station, Sorolla’s House and a Mine Under Madrid
FAQ
Why is the Madrid barrio called Malasaña?
After Manuela Malasaña, a 17-year-old embroiderer who died during the uprising against Napoleon’s troops on 2 May 1808. The area was officially called Maravillas.
Where is the fish of Calle del Pez?
Carved on the façade around number 24 of Calle del Pez, between yellow bricks. Look up.
Is there a number 109 on Calle Fuencarral?
No. After the famous 1888 crime at Fuencarral 109, the numbering jumps from 107 to 111.
What is Malasaña famous for?
La Movida Madrileña of the 1980s, vintage shops, rock bars, street art and the terraces of Plaza del Dos de Mayo.
— Monica Bernabe Perez