The streets in the University neighbourhood, popularly known as Malasaña, is where a large part of Madrid’s identity can trace its origins back to 1808, when local people gave their lives alongside army officers Daoíz and Velarde in the 2 May uprising against the French.
But “Madrid me mata” (literally, “Madrid kills me”) doesn’t get its name from that bloody chapter of history, but from a popular 1980s magazine that acted as mouthpiece for the Madrid “Movida” or “Nueva Ola” (New Wave), the social and cultural youth movement that had its epicentre in Madrid and in this neighbourhood in particular.
The bar’s museum gives a comprehensive account of the “Movida”. Although the venue is relatively new, it houses the history of the Nueva Ola in a permanent exhibition with hundreds of items on display. The collection includes records, instruments, newspapers, books, clothing and lots more. Looking at the walls inside the bar is like reading a book about the 80s.
To complete the eighties experience, “Madrid me mata” is opposite the legendary Penta, a bar that was at the centre of the “Movida” and is still up and running today.
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