Lavapiés

Lavapiés is an informal neighbourhood of the city of Madrid, centered on the Plaza de Lavapiés. It is located within the boundaries of the administrative ward of Embajadores, part of the Centro District.

The name literally means "wash feet" possibly in the fountain in Plaza de Lavapiés which no longer exists.

Lavapiés was long considered the most "typical" neighborhood of Madrid; humble and somewhat neglected. Now its large immigrant population has given it an exotic, cosmopolitan flavor and it draws many visitors from other parts of Madrid, as well as foreign tourists. An inscription on a fountain in Plaza de Cabestreros is a monument to the Spanish Republic in Madrid. The ruins of Escuelas Pías, a religious school, were left to stand for many years after it was burned down by the anti-Catholic, radical left that supported the Popular Front in 1936. Only in 2002 were part of the ruins converted into a university library. The north side of the ruins face the Plaza Augustin Lara, named after the 20th century Mexican composer who wrote a song about Madrid which includes the phrase "I'll make you the empress of Lavapies".

In the late 1980s and 1990s, Lavapiés had acquired a reputation as a "vertical slum", with its tenement blocks either empty or occupied by older people paying low rents. As a result, it became the most important location for okupación, or squatting, in Madrid.

More recently, it has become the focal point for immigrant populations, from the Indian subcontinent Chinese, Arabs and Senegalese. It has been estimated that around 60% of the population is of foreign origin and that there are 82 different nationalities represented.

West of Calle Ave María has a very high percentage of immigrant residents and shops and restaurants are almost exclusively owned by Chinese people, Indians, Bangaledeshis, Maghrebis and Middle Easterners. East of Calle Ave María, while still maintaining a socialist atmosphere in relation to the other areas of Madrid, has a far higher Spanish occupancy and eating/night scene.

There is a consistent police presence in Plaza de Lavapiés, as well as a high level of open drug selling. Aside from the police, the area is relatively safe in the south and east end. Surveillance cameras are present throughout the neighborhood.

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Wikipedia