Paseo Infanta Isabel

Before bearing an infanta’s name, this stretch was one of the roads that climbed from Vallecas toward the sanctuary of the Virgen de Atocha. For centuries it was called the paseo de Atocha, a name that clashed with the nearby calle de Atocha, until the street ended up dedicated to Isabel de Borbón y Borbón (1851-1931). Madrid knew her as “la Chata,” a nickname that came from her turned-up nose and stuck out of sheer popular affection. She was twice Princess of Asturias and lived almost her whole life in the capital, where she was seen at the bullfights and the festivals, mingling with a people more republican than monarchist who adored her all the same. That popularity saved her from exile. When the Second Republic was proclaimed in 1931, the new authorities did not force that woman of nearly eighty to leave. She chose to follow her family to France anyway, and died five days after leaving Spain. Overlooking the promenade stand the Ministry of Agriculture, crowned by the sculptures of Agustín Querol, and the old Anthropological Museum inaugurated by Alfonso XII.