Malasaña: Hipsters, Hare Krishna and Pianos

Recently, I have been spending more and more time in a neighborhood called Malasaña, and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite parts of the city. Although it is right next to the neighborhood I lived in during my last stay in Madrid, and not too far from my current house, I somehow had never managed to really acquaint myself with the area before. 

Malasaña is fondly called the Brooklyn of Madrid by many people here. It is full of trendy bars, cafés, boutiques and bookshops that each have their own unique and elaborate decorations. Some of them have themes - American-style bakeries, Parisian-style cafés, Mexican-style bar/restaurants - and some of them are just eclectic mixes of different styles. Each of them looks like it was made explicitly to be Instagrammed.

The area also has a good deal of history. One of its main plazas is called the Plaza del Dos de Mayo, or Plaza of May Second, because it housed the artillery barracks during an uprising by the people of Madrid in 1808 against Napoleon and the French army, who had been occupying the city for more than a month. In fact, the whole neighborhood's name is taken from Manuela Malasaña, considered a heroine (or perhaps more of a martyr) of this battle because she was executed by French troops in the aftermath of the revolt.

A statue in the Plaza Dos de Mayo

Speaking of military history, there is also a giant complex at the edge of Malasaña that once housed the royal military barracks, and which has now been converted into a cultural center. Inside, there are concert halls, a contemporary art museum, special public archives, and a public library. This last was of particular interest to me, because the library apparently specializes in musical resources and actually has a few practice rooms, some of which even have pianos!

The street entrance of the Centro Cultural Conde Duque

The interior courtyard of the Centro Cultural Conde Duque

Unfortunately, the piano rooms are nearly impossible to reserve, because whoever signs up gets to keep their registration for an entire year and then renew it! The only way you could possibly get a spot would be if someone moved, died OR failed to show up during their appointed time. For every absence, they give you a penalty, and after a certain number of penalties they take the room away from you. But the man said that this does not happen terribly often. However, they did say that if I came by and there happened to be a room available, I would be welcome to play until the person who had reserved it should show up. 

To our great luck, one day my friend Natalie and I were in the area anyway and decided to check it out, and there was indeed a room available! Needless to say, we were both thrilled to be playing again, and actually got to stay for about an hour without getting kicked out (Natalie actually majored in Music Technology and Pedagogy!).

Playing the piano in the library

One other awesome - albeit somewhat random - experience which we had in Malasaña involved the ubiquitous and universally generous Hare Krishna. Just like the Hare Krishna group which gives out free food to penny-pinching college students every Thursday on UNC's campus, there is a Hare Krishna group here with a restaurant/temple combo where they serve delicious food. It isn't free, but it is very cheap - only 6€ - and they give you massive portions; on top of which, you're welcome to come back for more! It is without a doubt the best value meal I've had in Madrid.

And yet, the great value of the meal was only half of what made the experience so unique. We arrived early because we had read a review online saying that it would get crowded quickly; but we were so early that they had not even started serving yet, and were instead about to do some chanting in preparation for the meal. Since we were already there, we figured, "Why not?", took a seat on a cushion on the floor, and joined in as the devotees chanted their songs - which are not difficult to learn - to the accompaniment of harmonium, drums and bells. It was actually surprisingly calming and soothing! 

As with all Hare Krishna I've ever met, everyone was really friendly. We talked with a Spanish mother and son who sat down at the table with us while we were eating, and it turned out that they had lived in Atlanta for a while! It really is a small world after all.