Madrid’s mayor, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon has unveiled plans for a new financial district development. The ambitious building project will see the skyline to the north of the Spanish capital transformed with the addition of 20 skyscrapers including four towers over 60 storey’s high.

The project plans development of over 1.2 square miles and will extend the capital’s main thoroughfare, the Paseo de la Castellana, north by 2.2 miles. Architects plans show the boulevard will be 90 yards wide in one section encompassing 12 lanes of traffic and two pedestrian tree-lined walkways. Chamartin railway station is targeted to be entirely rebuilt underground, sinking the tracks into a network of subterranean tunnels, and will become the hub of the high speed train network heading to the north and east of Spain towards Zaragoza, Barcelona and beyond into France.

I have always liked the Chamartín part of town. I like the 1970s architecture and the relatively wide-open streets and boulevards. Friends who live there have known this sort of grand projet was coming and just wanted to know its size and development locations. With the property crash not affecting Madrid as much as the rest of the country, small scale land speculation has been hotting-up around here for several years. Now some plans are on the table and the time-scale is revealed as 11 years. Plenty of time for jostling for position for everyone involved.

The Economist magazine sells well amongst the executive class in Madrid – particularly the younger 20s to 40s crowd who often have international business experience. I don’t think it unfair to say that many look to it as a source of inspiration as to what their country could achieve if it had a more entrepreneurial outlook. No, that’s wrong. The Spanish are naturally entrepreneurial (particularly Madrileños). Let’s say: If it had a better political economy for entrepreneurial activity.

This 20 to 40 generation look at places like the USA, Germany and UK (fools!) and want to emulate them, at least in a business sense. But they are held back by numerous factors, including: swingeing tax rates, barmy employment laws (it’s virtually impossible to sack staff), bureaucracy that can literally drive you mad and the casual acceptance of corrupt business practices. In few other countries is the maxim ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ more important than in Spain.

In the last decade or so these issues have been ‘papered over’ somewhat – the economy was booming, job opportunities and wages were increasing, Madrid itself grew at a cracking pace – but the recession (“la crisis economica”) has blown up the status quo and the background grumbling about the impossibility of doing proper business has become more of a loud growling.

Yesterday (26th Nov ‘09), The Economist magazine published an article headed Unsustainable. Well worth a read. But even more interesting, I thought, was the readers’ response section. Check that out to hear the growling I’m talking about here.

Sample comment:

(what) are the incentives for anyone to finish high school if it´s easier to go to work to Zara or Corte Ingles instead of going 5 or 6 longs years to university to have a salary of only 2000 euros.

– AlexLib

…so said the daily sports paper most associated with Real Madrid, following los blancos midweek 4-0 loss to third division Alcorcon. Other comments from the daily papers included:

Mostly, Madrid Uno likes to write only about the good things going on in the city, but mini dramas like this should be noted too. Real was the club M1 was immediately told to support by the first friends he made on arrival here and supporting the team has provided a proper insight into what it ‘is’ to be a madrileño – as well as providing many excuses to go out and share a beer. Hopefully, last night will be as bad as it will get. M1 does enjoy the midweek pub meet but since Real fans don’t do humiliation well, it’s likely to be a while before everyone’s stable enough to enjoy a match. hay k ver.

A very quick post to alert any readers of a nice little article in the DT on how to have a ‘relatively’ cheap weekend visit to Madrid.

I think it’s a good summary of what you can do in this fantastic city. The author has good tips on free entry to the Prado and Reina Sofia museums, mentions Retiro Park and also gives a shout out to the ‘earthy’ (i.e. scruffy), but authentically-Madrileño, Lavapiés barrio which I always recommend to visiting friends if they’re happy doing a lot of walking.

I can see that the idea of the suggested itinerary is to keep things very central, but I do think a trip north of Grand Via is always worth it as well. I have spent many happy hours wandering around the Malasaña and Argüelles districts which have a wealth of friendly bars and eateries and which provide a constantly fascinating street scene. Also, if you have time on a Sunday, take a mid-morning stroll through the Lago area of Casa de campo and up to Principe Pio as it provides a unique vista of the city and will also generate a healthy appetite for your tapas / aperitivos. Mind though, if you take this option, that you take care to stick to the main-thoroughfares – strange things go on in the woods! hehe.

I was chatting to some Spanish mates the other day about my favourite newsreader, a certain Mónica Carrillo, who sends my heart aflutter everytime she says ‘crisis economica’ – but they were fairly dismissive and instead raved about a certain Patricia Conde, who presents a comedy review / current events TV show called Sé lo que hicisteis (trans. ‘I Know What You Were Up To’). Check her out in action below:

Well, I still say Monica is tops. Now don’t get me wrong here: Patricia is clearly a top babe. But here in Spain, while I’m still regularly knocked sideways by these dusky latin beauties, for the locals they’re just ten-a-dozen. Blondes, on the other hand, get special attention and even an average looker will get herds of men tripping over themselves to chat them up. It’s clearly a rarity thing. In the UK we have a shortage of dark latinas and thus I find them exotic. In Madrid, they have a shortage of blondes and thus find them exotic. Well, that’s my theory anyway and I’m sticking to it.

And BTW, Monica, if you’re reading this, pls get in touch. I’m not rich and I’m not handsome but I have all my own teeth and can make a great Cosmopolitan.

Nuclear Si, Por Supuesto.

Alberto with friend

Local pride, the default mode of which is ’stratospheric’, was raised even further yesterday when Alberto Contador returned home from winning the world’s leading drug taking contest, bicycle race.

It’s Contador’s second win and some say he would have won three by now if he hadn’t had to miss last year’s event because of his team’s (Astana) complicity in the doping scandals that have previously dogged the race. Still, there’s time for more wins because he’s young (born in 1982 – grew up in the nondescript suburb of Pinto, in the South of the Communidad de Madrid) and Lance Armstrong, the bike racer most feared by the rest, is old.

After being greeted by family, friends and fans at Madrid’s Barajas airport, Contador was given a victory reception by the president of Madrid’s regional government in the centre of the capital, at which, every single opportunity was taken to play the Spanish national anthem – a not so subtle rebuke to the Tour de France organisers who had ‘accidentally’ played the national anthem of Denmark at the podium ceremony on Sunday.

Despite being a very naughty boy in California during the summer break, Cristiano Ronaldo was welcomed to Madrid today in the manner of a messiah, with an estimated 80,000 fans packing the Santiago Bernabeu to catch their first glimpse of the Portuguese superstar football player.

The local TV news proudly reported that this number of fans turning up just for a player unveiling was a world record, beating even the welcoming of Maradona (dirty Argie cheat) to Napoli in 1984.

Frankly, this is madness, and also seems a bit desperate. Yes, it was a torrid 2008/09 season, having to watch Barca win the ‘Triple’  and, yes, we have had two weeks of absolutely scorchio weather that has made even grizzled Manchego farmers complain of being hot, but 80,000 people, waiting up to 3 hours, just to see a bloke strut down a catwalk and give a press conference? Lunacy.

The madness was even affecting the club physio who stated he was ‘amazed’ at Cristiano’s condition and that the player has “an extraordinary cardiac and lung capacity.” Riiiiiight. Whatever.

Florentino Pérez, the Real Madrid president and architect of the Ronaldo and Kaká transfers, looked on at the proceedings with a smile a kilometer wide. Let’s hope that smile is still there halfway through next season. He’s called in some serious financial favours to fund these acquisitions and he desperately needs them to pay off. He’s already started trying to cover his back by calling for a new Euro Super League only for big clubs in order to guarantee them sufficient revenues.

Compra Oro

Sign reads – Buy / Sell Gold, watches and shiny things.

Retiro Park in central Madrid has been hosting an exhibition (Universo Urbano) by the sculptor Juan Ripollés. If you want to see more of these unusual and beautiful sculptures I recommend this great photo gallery on Flickr by Colgantitos.