Calle de Rafael Herrera

The sign recalls a Rafael Herrera, but who the man was is not documented. No record has survived of the figure it honours: no trade, no dates, no reason for the dedication. What is known is the ground it treads. Rafael Herrera runs through the barrio de Castilla, in Chamartín, a step from the plaza de Castilla and the paseo de la Castellana. Much of this land belonged to the dukes of Pastrana before passing to the Society of Jesus and the Canal de Isabel II. Development came from the 1950s, and the neighbourhood became one of the priciest in the capital, with singular buildings such as the Reina Castilla, at number 11 of this very street. The name sits among a company of personal signs: nearby run the calles de Rafael Marcote, Rafaela Aparicio and Rafael Salgado.