Calle de Eraso
The street bears the surname Eraso, linked to Francisco de Eraso (Madrid, 1507-1570), secretary to Charles V and Philip II. The surname comes from the Navarrese place of Eraso, in the municipality of Imoz, and derives from the Basque eraso or erazo, whose etymology —‘fern-field’, ‘valley’ or ‘storm’— is uncertain.
La Guindalera grew as a working-class neighbourhood in the second half of the 19th century, outside Castro’s Ensanche but leaning on its north-eastern flank. When it held barely 762 inhabitants in 1888, the calle de Eraso was already part of the original layout. It began at Francisco Silvela, still its start, and trailed off into open country; today its southern end reaches Camilo José Cela, overlooking the M-30 ring road.
Behind the name most likely stands Francisco de Eraso y Hermosa (Madrid, 1507-1570), perpetual secretary of His Majesty’s Council and of the Royal Treasury from 1556. In Brussels in 1555 he authorised Charles V’s abdication of the Low Countries, and shortly afterwards the act by which the emperor ceded the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. The surname comes from the Navarrese place of Eraso, in the Basque language.
The attribution should be treated with caution. No source confirms it, and La Guindalera had a habit of naming its streets after local owners who left no documentary trace.