Calle de Juan Bravo
It honours Juan Bravo (Atienza, c. 1483 – Villalar, 24 April 1521), the comunero captain of Segovia and one of the three leaders of the Castilian Communities' revolt against Charles I. He was beheaded alongside Juan de Padilla and Francisco Maldonado after the defeat at Villalar. Madrid’s City Council named three adjoining streets in the Ensanche de Salamanca with the three surnames.
Juan Bravo was born around 1483 in Atienza, into a well-placed noble family. Around 1505 he settled in Segovia, and his second marriage, in 1519, to María Coronel opened the doors of local power: the marriage terms included the post of alderman and command of the Segovian militias.
His moment came when Charles I left for Germany, leaving behind a discontented Castile. Bravo led the resistance in Segovia and blocked the royalist troops. In the 1521 campaign he took Simancas while Juan de Padilla seized Torrelobatón. On 23 April, on the fields of Villalar, the comuneros were defeated. Bravo was captured and beheaded the next day.
The detail that closes the story lies in the calendar. Madrid’s decision to name the trio of comunero leaders —Padilla, Bravo and Maldonado— is dated 24 April 1871, the exact anniversary of those executions.