Calle Chulapos

The name celebrates the chulapos, that figure of working-class Madrid that took shape in the nineteenth century in neighbourhoods like Lavapiés and La Latina. The chulapo was the born-and-bred madrileño, with his cheeky charm and love of street fairs; the chulapa came from the trades of the neighbourhood and stepped into the festivities with a firm stride. Anyone recognises them by their clothes: cap, neckerchief and carnation in the jacket for the men; fitted dress, Manila shawl and carnation in the hair for the women. Operetta made them eternal. La verbena de la Paloma, premiered in 1894, fixed that image of barrel organ, shawl and chotís that still takes to the streets during San Isidro and the Paloma festival. There is no record of the specific reason this name was chosen for this street in the Imperial neighbourhood. The place name alone sets the mood: a street named with the word that best sums up Madrid’s local flavour.