Avenida de Filipinas

Before it evoked islands, this street evoked water. Its first stretch was called Lozoya because it ran beside the third reservoir of the Canal de Isabel II, the one that supplied Madrid with water from the river. Since it cut diagonally across the grid of the Ensanche de Castro, in 1932 the city simply named it Diagonal. The final name arrived in the mid-twentieth century, as the rest of the route was built up. The archipelago Magellan reached in 1521 ended up bearing the name of Prince Philip, the future Philip II. Since 1977 the sign reads avenida de Filipinas, though locals still say Islas Filipinas, and the nearby metro entrance keeps that name. The tribute has a body in bronze. In one corner of the Parque de Santander stands the monument to José Rizal, the Filipino national hero executed in Manila in 1896, where the embassy holds its ceremonies.