Calle Manuela Torregrosa

In the Fuente del Berro neighbourhood, the streets appeared little by little, with no single plan to order them all at once. Beyond the villa colonies, many streets grew out of scattered City Council resolutions, which rewarded with a sign whoever had owned a plot, lived nearby, or donated to some institution. Calle Manuela Torregrosa belongs to that second kind. The story goes that it took its name from the bequest that a certain Manuela Torregrosa left to the Casas de Socorro, Madrid’s old first-aid posts. A woman who gave part of what was hers to those who healed the city’s injured ended up turned into a corner of the street map herself. The curious thing is how little is known of her. Some lists date the street to 1907, others to 1958, and no figure holds up to serious checking. And there is a telling detail: when Répide published his survey of Madrid’s streets in 1921, this one did not yet appear. Anyone strolling beneath the sign today reads the surname of a benefactress of whom barely that remains, a surname and a gesture of generosity.