The New Madrid?
From the Plaza de la Luna (Plaza of the Moon) stems the Corredera Baja de San Pablo, which runs to the Plaza of San Ildefonso, where it links up with its sister street, the Corredera Alta. I don’t know if these locations (a little bit north of downtown Madrid) appear on the normal travel guides, but if they don’t, they definitely should. This street is pure Madrid and reflects our more contemporary history. There are markets, bars and stores of all kinds, almost like it’s the new “Soho madrileño.”
Looking historically at the area’s origin, it seems like it was a constant party. The Dictionary Encyclopedia of Madrid recounts that both streets would fill up with fruit and flower stands during festivals with open-air dances. "The people came from mass (or corredera, the streets’ namesake)," it explains. So that you have a better idea of life in the old Corredera neighborhood, a 1928 article from the ABC newspaper (from a day when a bull and a cow got loose and “caused a panic in the city”) describes the area’s activity: “The numerous buyers and venders ran in all directions…”
Putting bull fighting anecdotes aside, there are three important sites to see on this street: the church of San Antonio de los Alemanes (for those interested in monuments), the Cine X theaters (demonstrates the Spanish liberalization of the 1980s and continues to be open), and the rebaptism of the area as TriBall (short for Triángulo Ballesta, or Crossbow Triangle, due to the shape made by Ballesta and Desengaño streets) by part of an association of business people, which has given the zone/area an alternative scene.
