Moratalaz
Encyclopedia
Moratalaz is a district of Madrid
, Spain
. It is a well known area because musicians such as Melendi
and Alejandro Sanz
have lived there. Moratalaz is on east of municipality
of Madrid
, it has 634.42 km² of surface area and is delineated by the highways of M-30 to the west, M-40 to the east, M23 to the north and A-3 to the south.
during the 1960s. Famous inhabitants of the district have been Elvira Lindo
, Melendi
, el Dioni, Alejandro Sanz
, "Cleanhead" Joe McGaha and Letizia Ortiz.
Before 1960, Moratalaz was only an agglomeration of barely 40 houses with only one paved street. It was located midway on a road that connected Madrid's main cemetery Cementerio de la Almudena
with the then unincorporated village of Vallecas
.
Sin
The Colonia Del Ferrocarril was a housing project in the '60s that was developed in Moratalaz. The Madrid
-Arganda Del Rey
train stopped there, and Moratalaz kept growing.
A military property gave birth to what today is one of the main streets of the district, Calle Del Pico De Los Artilleros. And an old road connecting Madrid
with Castilla La Mancha gave rise to Moratalaz's main avenue, Camino De Los Vinateros.
There was extraordinary and uncontrolled development in the 1970s, thanks to the programs of the Ministry of the Housing and the construction company Urbis. That led to the typical wide avenues and open spaces of Moratalaz, where traffic lanes are separated from houses by a wide green zone in between. That concept was not very popular in the '70s, but nowadays it's much appreciated, as it's an excellent measure against noise pollution.
The distinctive emblem of Public Housing during Franco's dictatorship (A yoke traversed with arrows) can still be found in the older blocks dating from that era.
Valencian
Antonio Galbis holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest paella
that 100,000 people in Moratalaz enjoyed in 2001. Several giant cranes, rakes, a paella pan of 400 square meters, 6,000 kilograms of rice
, 12,500 of chicken and rabbit, 5,000 of vegetables, 11,000 liters of virgin olive oil
, 300 kilograms of salt, 26 kilograms of pimentón (smoked paprika), 16 kilograms of annatto
and a kilogram of ground saffron
were used.
line 9. It has 3 stops in the district, namely Vinateros, Artilleros and Pavones.
Additionally, Moratalaz is served by several bus lines and a night bus, connecting with city center.
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is a well known area because musicians such as Melendi
Melendi
Ramón Melendi Espina is a Spanish pop singer with rock, flamenco, and rumba influences.- Biography :He was born on January 21, 1979 in Oviedo, Asturias. He went to class with Formula One race car driver Fernando Alonso, to whom he dedicated the song "Magic Alonso"...
and Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz , is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist...
have lived there. Moratalaz is on east of municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
of Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, it has 634.42 km² of surface area and is delineated by the highways of M-30 to the west, M-40 to the east, M23 to the north and A-3 to the south.
Subdivision
The district is administratively divided into 7 wards (Barrios):- Fontarrón (145)
- Horcajo (142)
- Marroquina (143)
- Media Legua (144)
- Pavones (141)
- Vinateros (146)
History
Moratalaz arose as a commuter suburb of MadridMadrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
during the 1960s. Famous inhabitants of the district have been Elvira Lindo
Elvira Lindo
Elvira Lindo is a Spanish journalist and writer.At the age of 12 Lindo moved to Madrid, where she studied journalism. She did not get her degree, as she began to work in television and radio as a speaker, actress and scriptwriter...
, Melendi
Melendi
Ramón Melendi Espina is a Spanish pop singer with rock, flamenco, and rumba influences.- Biography :He was born on January 21, 1979 in Oviedo, Asturias. He went to class with Formula One race car driver Fernando Alonso, to whom he dedicated the song "Magic Alonso"...
, el Dioni, Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz
Alejandro Sanz , is a Spanish singer-songwriter and musician. For his work, Sanz has won a total of fifteen Latin Grammy Awards and three Grammy Awards. He has won the Latin Grammy for Album of the Year three times, more than any other artist...
, "Cleanhead" Joe McGaha and Letizia Ortiz.
Before 1960, Moratalaz was only an agglomeration of barely 40 houses with only one paved street. It was located midway on a road that connected Madrid's main cemetery Cementerio de la Almudena
Cementerio de la Almudena
The Cementerio de Nuestra Señora de La Almudena is a cemetery in Madrid, Spain. It is the largest in Madrid and one of the largest in Western Europe...
with the then unincorporated village of Vallecas
Vallecas
Vallecas is a neighborhood of Madrid composed of two districts: Puente de Vallecas and Villa de Vallecas...
.
Sin
The Colonia Del Ferrocarril was a housing project in the '60s that was developed in Moratalaz. The Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
-Arganda Del Rey
Arganda del Rey
Arganda del Rey is a municipality in Madrid, Spain. It is connected to Madrid by metro line 9, underground.-History:The first definitive habitation in the area dates back to the Arabic presence in the Iberian Peninsula...
train stopped there, and Moratalaz kept growing.
A military property gave birth to what today is one of the main streets of the district, Calle Del Pico De Los Artilleros. And an old road connecting Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
with Castilla La Mancha gave rise to Moratalaz's main avenue, Camino De Los Vinateros.
There was extraordinary and uncontrolled development in the 1970s, thanks to the programs of the Ministry of the Housing and the construction company Urbis. That led to the typical wide avenues and open spaces of Moratalaz, where traffic lanes are separated from houses by a wide green zone in between. That concept was not very popular in the '70s, but nowadays it's much appreciated, as it's an excellent measure against noise pollution.
The distinctive emblem of Public Housing during Franco's dictatorship (A yoke traversed with arrows) can still be found in the older blocks dating from that era.
Valencian
Valencian
Valencian is the traditional and official name of the Catalan language in the Valencian Community. There are dialectical differences from standard Catalan, and under the Valencian Statute of Autonomy, the Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua has been established as its regulator...
Antonio Galbis holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest paella
Paella
Paella is a Valencian rice dish that originated in its modern form in the mid-19th century near lake Albufera, a lagoon in Valencia, on the east coast of Spain. Many non-Spaniards view paella as Spain's national dish, but most Spaniards consider it to be a regional Valencian dish...
that 100,000 people in Moratalaz enjoyed in 2001. Several giant cranes, rakes, a paella pan of 400 square meters, 6,000 kilograms of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, 12,500 of chicken and rabbit, 5,000 of vegetables, 11,000 liters of virgin olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
, 300 kilograms of salt, 26 kilograms of pimentón (smoked paprika), 16 kilograms of annatto
Annatto
Annatto, sometimes called roucou or achiote, is a derivative of the achiote trees of tropical regions of the Americas, used to produce a yellow to orange food coloring and also as a flavoring...
and a kilogram of ground saffron
Saffron
Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus, commonly known as the saffron crocus. Crocus is a genus in the family Iridaceae. Each saffron crocus grows to and bears up to four flowers, each with three vivid crimson stigmas, which are each the distal end of a carpel...
were used.
Population
In this area live 106,344 people, 9,942 of which are immigrants according to the 2006 census.Main sights
Moratalaz is famous for its big parks and open spaces. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) maintains a temple in the district. It is the only Mormon temple located in Spain.Transportation
Moratalaz is served by Metro De MadridMadrid Metro
The Madrid Metro is a metro system serving the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. The system is the sixth longest metro in the world though Madrid is approximately the fiftieth most populous metropolitan area in the world...
line 9. It has 3 stops in the district, namely Vinateros, Artilleros and Pavones.
Additionally, Moratalaz is served by several bus lines and a night bus, connecting with city center.