Calle de Juan Álvarez Mendizábal

Behind the sign is a man from Cádiz of merchant stock who remade his own name. Born in 1790 as Juan de Dios Álvarez Méndez, he swapped his mother’s surname for the more Basque-sounding Mendizábal and even declared himself a native of Bilbao. From commerce and finance he leapt into liberal politics, heading the government between 1835 and 1836. His name became forever tied to the disentailment. By decrees of 1835 and 1836 he dissolved religious orders and put their lands and convents up for sale, hoping to mend the public debt and fund the war against the Carlists. The measure transformed the urban landscape of Madrid and half of Spain, and he died in 1853 laden with debts. The street crosses Argüelles from side to side, more than a kilometre parallel to Princesa.