Right in the middle of Lavapiés sits the church of San Lorenzo. Some say that before the church was constructed, there was a Mosque, others say there was a synagogue (Montero). Contemporarily, San Lorenzo has been called a refuge for many migrants coming from South America. This church has not been exempted from the evolution of the neighborhood into a multicultural space. Although some priests from the Community of Madrid are opposed to the diversification of customs and icons, claiming that immigrants should adopt local ones, other priests are in favor of this ‘mestizaje’ of the altars (Serna). In the church of San Lorenzo Colombians, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Paraguayans and Bolivians can find their local icons. Ecuadorians, for example, brought their Virgin of Cisne (Serna). The pilgrimage of the Virgin of Cisne in Ecuador is one of the most important religious rituals, and now in Madrid Ecuadorians take her out of San Lorenzo for processions and organize a special mass in her regard. The priest of this parish, Juan José, travels every year to South America to become more familiar with local customs, icons, and traditions of the immigrants that now have become the base of his followers (Serna). Many other parishes around Madrid have followed Juan José’s example and have opened their doors to South American local icons and have also allowed Latin Americans to celebrate their quinceañeras (Vázquez and Vallejo). Thus, Spaniards brought Catholicism to the Americas 500 years ago; and now, contemporary migration from the Americas has revived Catholic practices in the Spanish capital.
Around four million immigrants have entered Spain in the last twenty years. Almost 23% of the inhabitants of Centro, a district within the Madrid, are foreigners. More specifically, in the neighborhood Embajadores, 34% of the residents were not born in Spain (Ayuntamiento Madrid 2018). This process has been described as a metamorphosis of Spanish society, or, those who highlight the migrations from the Americas, have described it as a Latin American migration ‘boom’. In both cases, there is an emphasis on change and alteration. Following Franco’s death, in the beginning of the 80s, immigration policy began to relax and the Spanish government started to renew ties with Latin Americans nations in the 90s (Leinaweaver 41-45). Thousands of “ex-colonial subjects” migrated to the “mother nation” – as it is sometimes described- in the turn of the century, Spain officially adopted a stance of integration, although people have remained largely ambivalent towards this urban reconfiguration process. In addition, as the professional white-collar force grew in post-industrial Spain, a simultaneous demand for a workforce that would take care of the reproductive duties of the professionals emerged. This demand has been met by the thousands of female immigrants that have arrived to Spain, most of them from the Americas.
The majority of immigrants from the Americas in Centro district reside in Embajadores and Sol. More generally, a diverse immigrant population have given these neighborhoods fame for their multiculturalism and vibrancy; Lavapiés -within Embajadores- is surrounded by street art that showcases its rebellious and communitarian spirit. Most immigrants arrive to work in the informal economy -regardless of their level of education-, and since the nineties, many have formed ‘ethnic businesses’. Many of these ‘ethnic businesses’ are led by families or people that are very close and lots of them work without a formal contract. Some believe that their apparition has revitalized neighborhoods in Centro that were in decay, like Lavapiés (Cebrián de Miguel and Bodega Fernandez 561). These stores and restaurants have reconfigured the geography and economy of these neighborhoods (Cebrián de Miguel and Bodega Fernandez 562). Near these businesses low-income housing proliferated and new cultural institutions started to emerge, forming ethnic enclaves. In the past, some scholars claimed that culturalism was the prime reason behind the formation of these ‘ethnic businesses’, but more recently, the opportunity structure that migrants face has been highlighted. Racial discrimination and exclusion from the formal workforce had led many migrants to rely on communitarian resources to survive and has made them remain in the informal economy (Cebrián de Miguel and Bodega Fernandez 564-565).
Ironically, this exclusion is what helped propel Lavapiés as an acclaimed multicultural space and led it to be nicknamed as the ‘coolest neighborhood’ in Madrid. Gentrification has followed suit and has largely affected the immigrant communities. Leah Pattem, a long-time resident of Embajadores, asserts that what people are failing to see, is that this multiculturalism that has attracted countless tourists and has created a center of creativity and cultural vibrancy, “stands on the stooped shoulders of poverty and immigration” (The Local). The influx of economic migrants since the 80s, had settled in Embajadores, a barrio willing to accept anyone that wanted to make it their home. Now juxtaposed to the cramped apartments and sights of clothes “hanging on improvised washing lines”, are chic cafés, restaurants, and the “clubs of the moment” (Pattem). Longtime residents are being priced out of their long-time residences. Pablo León, writing for El País , states that two figures are able to encapsulate the disparities and contradictions found in this barrio: Embajadores is one of the areas with the sharpest increase in housing prices -around 21%-, and at the same time, it is the area with the lowest household income (León). Sociologist Javier Gil suggests that the branding of the neighborhood as ‘cool’ has provided “a rhetoric that legitimizes urban expulsion” (León). Lavapíes is situated as an epicenter of the urban renewal processes that have characterized the reconfiguration of Madrid’s city center in its new role of global city. The urban renaissance taking place in this immigrant and working class neighborhood has led to “a redesign and control of communal spaces and leads to changes in social tenancy” (Youkhana 178). Residents have tried to re-appropriate their space using creative activism and urban art. Street art seen in Lavapíes alludes to the oppressive police surveillance and identity checks that now characterize the neighborhood. In addition, the art depicts ethnic minorities in order to ” articulate themselves as being part of the urban collective ” (Youkhana 173).
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- The name of the street ‘Ave María’ juxtaposed with an artwork stating ‘the Amazon will not be Sold’
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- Corner store with sign detailing they sell ‘Asian, Latin American, Arab, and African food’.
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- An Arabic bakery in Lavapiés
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- Rock Against Racism – Street art in Lavapiés
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- Street art near Plaza de Lavapiés referencing gentrification
Works Cited
Serna, Carmen. “Vírgenes ‘sin papeles” El Mundo, 15 Dec, 2009, https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/12/14/madrid/1260821173.html
Cebrián de Miguel, Juan, and M. Isabel Bodega Fernández. “El negocio étnico, nueva fórmula de comercio en el casco antiguo de Madrid. El caso de Lavapiés.” Estudios Geográficos [Online], 63.248-249 (2002): 559-580. Web. 20 Jun. 2019
Dellle Femmine, Laura, and David Alameda. “La Metamorfosis De España.” El País , 1 Mar. 2017, elpais.com/internacional/2017/02/27/actualidad/1488194732_820452.html.
León, Pablo. “Who Benefits from Lavapiés’ New ‘Cool’ Designation?” El País , 26 Sept. 2018, elpais.com/elpais/2018/09/25/inenglish/1537886071_362880.html.
Montero, Teresa. “Aquí todos somos inmigrantes” El Mundo, 11 Aug, 2004, https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2004/08/11/madrid/1092181456.html
O’Kuinghttons, Ursula, and Patricia Villaruel. “Veinte Años Del ‘Boom’ De La Inmigración Latinoamericana.” El País , 21 Jan. 2018, elpais.com/politica/2018/01/08/actualidad/1515409208_575807.html.
Pattem, Leah. “The Real Reason Why This Madrid Barrio Is the World’s ‘Coolest’ Neighbourhood.” The Local, 5 Oct. 2018, www.thelocal.es/20181005/the-real-reason- why-this-madrid-barrio-is-the-worlds-coolest-neighb ourhood .
Serna, Carmen. “Vírgenes ‘sin papeles” El Mundo, 15 Dec, 2009, https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/12/14/madrid/1260821173.html
Vazquez Manuel, and Olga Vallejo. “Madrid, cruce de culturas Latinas” El País, 2 Jan 2018, https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/01/02/album/1514897088_949787.html#foto_gal_18
Youkhana, Eva. “Creative Activism and Art Against Urban Renaissance and Social Exclusion – Space Sensitive Approaches to the Study of Collective Action and Belonging.” Sociology Compass, vol. 8, no. 2, Feb. 2014, p. 172.
https://www.madrid.es/portales/munimadrid/es/Inicio/El-Ayuntamiento/Estadistica/Distritos-en- cifras/?vgnextfmt=default&vgnextchannel=27002d05cb71b310VgnVCM1000000b205a0aRCR D&vgnextoid=27002d05cb71b310VgnVCM1000000b205a0aRCRD
Really excellent exploration of the ways migration to the imperial metropole from the imperial periphery, as well as Global South-Global North migration due to large-scale economic/climate/political change, has led to a reshaping of the metropole itself. Meanwhile, this repopulation of Madrid is matched by a neoliberal regime in which global urban space is turned into a landscape of three-dimensional interest-bearing accounts (i.e. a built environment that generates profit for investors). The formula seems to be that reinvestment into urban cores by major global investors seeking high returns + a cultural and economic elite making use of its spending power = increased land values, increased property values, gentrification, and the displacement of the most vulnerable. The most vulnerable are too often immigrants and the poor, and, in this case, many of those immigrants are those that were displaced in their own lands by Spanish colonists! That’s a lot of history with which to contend in such a small city and for a short, ten-week research project! I’d be interested in hearing about how SEDOAC theorizes its struggle as congruent or connected to those of other refugee populations or other Latinx immigrants in Madrid. I’m sure you’ll learn more about this as the weeks go on!