Meet Madrid Through The Films of Pedro Almodovar
The Rastro flea market
Almodovar was 16 years old when he left the unperceptive city of Cáceres and came to modern Madrid. It was a time when he made eight short films. To financially support his film hobby, he would sell secondhand goods on the most famous Madrid flea market – Rastro. In each film, Almodovar incorporates part of himself; each of them has an autobiographical line, so is the case with the Rastro.
In the movie Labyrinth of passion (Laberinto de Pasiones, 1982) young Cecilia Rot and Antonio Banderas walk down this flea market. In addition, in the movie Dark Habits (Entre tinieblas, 1983), nuns sell miracle cakes made from the blood of Jesus at the same market.
The market is open every Sunday and every national holiday from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m. About 11 a.m. there is complete chaos. Stalls are located along the square, Plaza de Cascorro and Ribera de Curtidores.
Dirty quarter Chueca
Chueca has always been a place known for prostitutes and drug addicts, as it is shown in the movie tie me (¡atam!, 1989 ), in which Rick is trying to get some opiates for Marina.
Today Chueca has grown as a hyper-popular gay district with numerous shops, restaurants and bars. There is also a 150 years old tapas bar. Almodovar says that it is one of the best anti-depressants he knows. Nearby is the La Bardemcilla, a restaurant owned by Javier Bardem, who acted in 3 of Almodovar’s films.
The area is concentrated around Plaza de Chueca and Chueca metro station. Every year strong gay scene organizes pride parade through the streets of this neighborhood.
Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas
Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is the famous bullfight place in Madrid. It is shown in the TV commercial in the movie tie me. Bullring is built in the Moorish style and it gathers the strongest and bravest matadors. You can see more details of it in the film Talk to her (Hable con ella, 2001).
The heroine of the film is Lydia; for her last bullfight she dresses in her matador’s costume: pink socks, trousers embroidered in gold, stiff jacket. She struggles with a 500 kg bull and gets stabbed.
Corrida is located in the Salamanca district. It is located in the eastern part of the city and the best option is to use the metro.
It has 25000 seats. Season starts in March and ends in December. Matches begin at 6p.m. or 7 p.m. and they last for 2-3 hours. Ticket prices vary in relation to how close you are to the arena and whether you are on the sunny side or in the shadow.