famous+people+of+Madrid

This page has been created by Diego Suárez.

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Madrid has had people who have changed the history of our city. This people were:

**Las lavanderas**
The "lavanderas" were humble woman who were widows or mothers of big families who cleaned the clothes in the bank of the river "manzanares" in change of six reals each day. The water lever of river manzares hasn´t had never good, however the flooding caused the destruction of the places where the lavanderas worked and all the things near of the bank of the river, included woman and girls who worked here.



Carlos III ,king of Spain was worried about the conditions in which the "lavanderas" worked, so he built some washing places with a roof and a channel which only carried clean water for avoid contaminated water.In the century XIX were built 19 public baths, 86 wasing places and around 7000 drawers which isolated the humidity in the places where the clothes were cleaned. These number of building reflect the importance of this job in the XIX century.

In the year 1871 the queen María Victoria built next to the square of San Vicente a institution for the lavanderas´s children.This institution was created for look after the childrens while their mothers where working on the river Manzanares.The "lavanderas" were very happy with it, but after the Spanish civil war this institution disappeared and in the year 1946 it was built again between the streets of Pontones and Imperial. Now it´s not use for it because this job don´t exist.



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Beatriz Galindo "La Latina"


Beatriz Galindo was a woman very intelligent for the time where she lived (1465-1534). She was called "La Latina" and this name is today the name of a neighborhood in Madrid

[[image:http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2884814292_84815f29b0.jpg?v=0 width="391" height="297" caption="Actual fotograph of the neighborhood of "La Latina""]]
She was borned in Salamanca. Firstly her parents thought that she´d be a nun.So they enrolled her in gramatic class.At 15 years old she spoke, read and write latin very easily.Because it all the people in Salamanca and after in all the kingdom knew who was "La Latina". When the queen Isabel La Católica heard about her, she called her for to be her teacher.The queen and La Latina became very friends.When La Latina marriaged the Catholic Monarchs gave her 500,000 maravedies. The husband of La Latina died when she was 26 years old and with two childrens.Then she retired of the court but she followed working for the queen until her die. After she retired, she founded a hospital and a convent in the street Toledo.She called the convent The Convent of Concepción Jerónima where she lived until she died.



[|Manuela Malasaña.]


Manuela Malasaña was born in Madrid in the year 1790.She is important because during the war between Spain and French she died with 18 years old. About her death exist two stories and we don't know which is the correct.

First story: Apperaly while she was carrying gunpowder for her father in the actual square of 2 of may,when a french bill killed her in front of her father.

Second story: Manuela Malasaña and a friend were captures by the french army.They registred her and they founde a scissors of her work like seamstress.They accuse her of have weapons and they executed her.

She is in the cementery of the "Buena Dicha".She is a heroine for the village of Madrid because she died with 18 years and she represent a symbol of rebelliousness for the young people of Madrid who fought against the french army.

Doctor Esquerdo


Doctor Esquerdo was born in the year 1842 in a village of Alicante called Villajoyosa.

His father died before he borned, so his uncle Juan Zaragoza developed his education.He studied Medicine in Valencia.When he finished his studies, he went to Madrid for specialize himself in medicine and surgery.His studies were specializing in neuro-psychology and the mistery of the mind. He also participated on international conferences about medicine.He was a big doctor and a big person, when a epidemic was declared in a country he was the first in go to this place.

He lived in a century where the psychiatric hospitals were prisons he put new technical advances like better conditions in the hospitals or deal the sicks with music.The psychiatric hospital of Carabanchel was the selected for this techniques. The principal the idea of Esquerdo was deal to the sicks as normal people and not like prisioners that was the idea of this century.

Esquerdo was not only doctor, he was also a politician and leader of some left-wing political party. He founded a new party and he become the national boss of other party. He died in the year 1912.

Mesonero Romanos


Mesonero Romanos was born on the beginning of the century XIX in a rich family; because it he had a great educatio. When he was young he become one of the most important writters of his generation. He also founded and managed the newspaper "Seminario Pintoresco Español", this newspaper was about literature and not about politics. Also you could find studys about monuments, legends, historic novels and biographys. When he wrote in fhis newspaper he signed with the name of the curious speaker. Mesonero Romanos normally wrote about habits of Madrid, these articles were mix in a novel called "escenas matritenses" by Mesonero Romanos, other important novel wrote by Mesonero Romanos was "Manual de Madrid" a guide of the urbanistic transformation of Madrid. Also he wrote other 2 importants novels: "The ancient Madrid" and "Memorias de un sesetón". He also colaborated in the fundation of "La caja de ahorros" and "Ateneo".

Francisco Cabarrús


He was born in 1752 in a merchant family of France in the city of Bayona.His parents sent him to a friend's home of Zaragoza in Spain, who have a business. Here he improved his techniques in business and also he married with the daughter of his boss called Antonia Galabert. The young couple opened a new shop in Carabanchel Alto,here they will settled their home, also they took the control of the factory of soap from the Antonia Galabert's grandfather.Posibly their home and the factory are in the actual school "Villa San Pablo".After many years this city was the patron of Francisco Cabarrús. With the time, the business of Francisco cabarrús are very good and he goes to the famous circles where his opinion is respected. He start to be friend of important people as Jovellanos, Floridablanca or Aranda.Carlos III sees in Cabarrús a good friend and a moneylender;it happended also with other kings as Carlos IV and José I. The monarch saw the projects of Cabarrús good in times of war against England.Cabarrús was one of the developers of the emission of Royal credit notes and the creation of the bank of Spain that Cabarrús was the first director of this institution.He also was one of the creators of the "Company of Las Filipinas".

But his social range created unfriends that acussed him of treat with the revolutionary frenchs and fraud.He was imprisoned in the castle of Batres between the years 1790 and 1792.After these bad story he was named count of Cabarrús by Carlos IV.Inmediatly people started to confident in him for important positions.Carlos IV named him ambassador in the conference of Rastadt in 1797 and José I named him minister of finances.

Francisco Cabarrús died in Seville the 27th ​ of April in the year 1810.

The novels of Cabarrús were employed by important economists.His novels reflect a economist thought very realistic.

San Isidro Labrador


San Isidro was a saint of Madrid and nowadays is the patron saint of our city.The day for celebrate it is the 15th​ of May.

San Isidro Labrador was born in 1082.He married with Sta María de la Cabeza and he was farmer and sherpherd.He worked for Iván de Vargas.

The Church says that San Isidro has made more than 400 miracles.

One of these is the miracle of the well:

The legend says that one day in the house where San Isidro lived,(the Vargas's palace), the son of San Isidro fall to the well and San Isidro started to pray.The level of the water rose and he took him.

Other story says that in the land where San Isidro worked during a period of drought, San Isidro drived his hoe into the land and a spring borned.This spring supplyed all the ville of Madrid.

In this same land,othe miracle was realiced:The ox ploughed while San Isidro prayed.

Also this land was the place where a chapel of San Isidro was build.The chapel has had in total two reforms,the actual chapel is of 1725.The famous party of the 15​th of May is celebrated around this chapel.

San Isidro Labrador died the 30th November of 1172 and now his corpse rest in the Real Colegiata de San Isidro.Paulo V beatifyed him.

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