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Madrid is on a roll. Never a city to let the grass grow under its feet,
the Spanish capital is experiencing unprecedented change thanks to the
efforts of the visionary mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón -- a man compared
by some, however tongue in cheek, to a pharaoh. In 2005 the mayor
launched a new 7-year city program aimed at transforming the capital
into a world-class cosmopolitan center, with improved Metro and rail
transport and the expansion of new barrios, or districts, especially in
the north of the city where a tren ligero (a smaller, streamlined Talgo-shaped
tram similar to those successfully operating in Bilbao) is scheduled to
be in operation by spring 2007. Though the completion of all this work
was originally timed to coincide with Madrid's expected nomination as
venue for the 2012 Olympics, the city's disbelief at being beaten for
the honor by London was quickly forgotten (maudlin introspection is not
part of the feisty Madrileño temperament). In fact, many completion
schedules have been brought forward to coincide with the municipal
elections of May 2007.
Two new terminals at Barajas airport were inaugurated in February 2006,
more than doubling the city's international traffic and making the
airport the third busiest in Europe, while Chamartín railway station is
being totally rebuilt to merge with a renovated Metro station and a new
underground regional and long-distance bus terminal. Each of the four
skyscrapers currently under construction (Torres Repsol, Espacio, Sacyr,
and Cristal) will outstrip Torre Picasso in the AZCA Business Center as
the highest building in town; at the same time, pedestrian and subway
underpasses are being tunneled and countless streets and avenues
widened, all aimed at improving road access. The roadwork may prove a
bone of contention for frustrated and quietly -- or not so quietly --
seething Madrileño drivers who see their priority of getting to work on
time thwarted by cranes, bulldozers, excavations, and scaffoldings until
the job gets done. On the other hand, public transportation is being
upgraded almost by the month, particularly on the much-used and
excellent-value Metro.
The cultural mix of the 5-million-plus population is also changing
radically, with an influx of immigrants from South American and Eastern
European countries taking over many of the service and blue-collar jobs.
Many are Ecuadorians, who are busy opening cafes, shops -- especially
bakeries -- and locutorios (long-distance phone-call centers). Meanwhile
the Russians, Romanians, Poles, and Czechs who work on many of the
building sites and in practical fields such as plumbing and carpentry
have shown great versatility both in their work and in picking up
Spanish. It's all a great change from the homogeneous Madrid of a few
years back when foreign residents totaled barely 1%.
Ecological changes abound, too. Madrid is now officially one of the
"greenest" cities in Europe, with verdant areas springing up every year
thanks to an ecologically aware town hall. The Retiro, with its flowers,
fountains, and boat-filled lake, and the huge Casa del Campo moorland,
with its copses and bird life, are the city's twin lungs, aided by the
regular flow of pure mountain air from the Guadarramas 97km (60 miles)
away. Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón's improvement plans also cover the planting
of hundreds of thousands of trees in newly created green zones --
intersected by walking and cycling lanes -- both in and around the city.
His Manzanares River development is particularly ambitious, with both
river and M-30 highway running underground while the surface becomes a
pedestrianized parkland that connects with the Casa del Campo. (In
summer 2006 the crusading mayor also launched a battle against "light
pollution" by announcing a future ban on practically all neon lights in
the city center, so that Madrileños would be able to see the stars on
cloudless nights.)
In a sense, the Spanish capital hasn't changed at all: It has always
been an awesome blend of tradition and dynamism. At its heart is the
vintage Madrid of Los Austrias, the Plaza Mayor, and the Palacio Real,
still exuding centuries-old atmosphere and ringed in turn by regenerated
castizo (traditional) districts like Chueca, Malasaña, and Lavapiés (the
latter's population epitomizing the new ethnically varied Madrid). The
San Isidro and Virgen de la Almudena fiestas are celebrated with their
customary color and vigor. Shopping, dining, and cultural options are
plentiful and remarkably varied. And the spontaneous nonstop lifestyle
continues to thrive, with bars (more than 18,000 of them) opening from
5:30am onwards for coffee and churros and closing late (or never
shutting at all if you include the after-hours bars), and weekend dawn
traffic jams of cars and night buses blocking the city thoroughfares as
revelers weave their way to, from, or between their favorite spots. |
