Calle Los Mesejo

The plural of the name is no slip: Los Mesejo recalls a whole family of actors. At its head was José Mesejo, born in Madrid in the mid-nineteenth century, who took to the stage very young and founded a line that lived off the theatre for decades. His career matured at the Teatro Apolo, the hall the city called “the cathedral of the género chico”. There he sang the tavern-keeper in La verbena de la Paloma in 1894 and appeared in La revoltosa, along with pieces by Arniches. Through the plain-spoken Madrid characters he won over the public. His son Emilio followed the same trade and, that very night in 1894, brought the lovestruck Julián to life. Father and son shared the bill at the Apolo, and from that collective “Los Mesejo” comes the street, in the Adelfas neighbourhood, which joined the two on a single plaque.