Calle de Horcajuelo

The name travels from the far north of the province to the grid of Prosperidad. Horcajuelo de la Sierra is a tiny municipality wedged into the Ayllón massif, in the Sierra del Rincón, that corner of Madrid declared a Biosphere Reserve. The Calle de Horcajuelo brings it onto the urban tarmac, faithful to the custom of naming Madrid streets after the mountain villages of the region. The place name comes from the terrain. The hamlet sits on the fork drawn where the Garita and Grande streams meet, hence horcajo, the place where a watercourse divides, plus the diminutive -uelo: the little fork. It is thought to have been built by shepherds from neighbouring Horcajo de la Sierra in search of fresh pasture. Its fame rests not on palaces but on dark stone. The houses of slate masonry and red Arab tile form one of the best-preserved rural ensembles in the region. It is one of the black villages of Madrid, where the grey sheet of schist replaces brick and holds the warmth of the mountain hearths.