Travesía de María Zayas
It takes its name from the neighboring street dedicated to María de Zayas y Sotomayor, a Madrid novelist of the Spanish Golden Age.
The calle de María Zayas, from which this travesía takes its name, runs nearby between Bravo Murillo and the heart of Berruguete. Zayas was born in Madrid in 1590.
In 1637 Zayas published her Novelas amorosas y ejemplares, which placed her among the great storytellers of the Golden Age. Castillo Solórzano gave her the nickname Sibyl of Madrid. In her pages she defended women’s access to education, an uncomfortable idea for her time. She died around 1653, in poverty, and for centuries was almost erased from the textbooks; today she is read as a pioneer of the Spanish novel.
The tribute in Tetuán is modest and doubled: besides the street and this travesía, a neighborhood Social Services Center bears her name.