Sonríe, te están grabando en Lavapiés

 

Pillado en... Un barrio feliz.

"Madrid's hot new district" - Times

The Spanish capital’s hillside district of Lavapies used to be a mugger's paradise. Now it's smartened up its act.

Edward Owen

Until recently, visitors to Madrid’s central tourist area were warned away from the adjacent old hillside district of Lavapies. The former medieval Jewish enclave and working-class immigrant ghetto had a bad reputation, with muggings depressingly common.

Now, though, the area has been restored, with cobbled streets, period streetlamps — and a far more visible police presence. Flats have been tarted up, intellectuals have revived cafes, ethnic eateries have improved, musicians play flamenco and jazz, and now reborn Lavapies is a colourful global village, Madrid’s melting pot.

Local resident Ian Gibson, author of books on Spain’s main cultural figures, loves the invigorating and eclectic buzz in the air.