Every time I take the tour of the Madrid of the Austrias And when I get to the point where you can see the Plaza Mayor, I stop to ask my tourists who knows it and who doesn't... that's the way to ensure a memorable moment, by focusing my attention on the gestures of those who step foot there for the first time.
Once we are in it, I leave them to their own devices for a while, because I am not the one who is going to interrupt them, while they try to guess what those 12,000 square meters…and this place contains so much energy that it seems to whisper a personalized welcome to each passerby who visits it.
If the Plaza Mayor came to life, it would be like Sybil, the character from a book I read when I was young that told the story of a woman who suffered from multiple personality disorder and transformed according to the need or situation.
The Plaza is like an impeccable young lady with perfect features, whose exact dimensions are the result of the golden ratio, which was applied to it by an experienced designer.
But she is also the distinguished and noble lady, who adorns herself to receive the nobility, who with her will witness a king and his coronation.
She is the bohemian girl who lets herself be decorated with artificial grass and, without putting up obstacles, receives conceptual art interventions.
And it is the submissive woman who, with shame, endures the complaints of the innocent and with timid indignation, endures the barbarities of the Holy Inquisition.
She is the crazy and scandalous teenager who smells of cold beer, constant celebration and lack of modesty.
She is the smiling girl who, to the rhythm of whistles, runs after the most disparate characters and plays in an old amusement park, whose mission is to roam, recycle and be creative.
And it is also the traditional Madrid woman, who is adorned with carnations and dresses in chulapa, to dance a chotis at the festivals San Isidro, as it celebrates the anniversary of its inauguration.
The Plaza is so versatile that it has even changed its surname, depending on the occasion: del Arrabal, de la Constitución, de la República, de la República Federal, de Calvo Sotelo, Plaza Real and finally, the name that best defines its origin and its current eclecticism, its democratic name, its married name and the name of the lady of the capital: Plaza Mayor of Madrid.
600 steps from Puerta del Sol, with a parking that supports its cobblestones, 10 entrances through which thousands of suitors enter every day who leave there in love and having Calle Mayor as a neighbor, this "woman" of different identities and diverse characteristics, has lived in the city for 400 years and has a history so long and fascinating to its credit that it is worth knowing.
Should we introduce her to you?
