La Movida Madrileña

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La Movida Madrileña, meaning “The Action of Madrid”, was an unplanned countercultural movement from 1977 to 1985 in Spain. It began when Dictator Francisco Franco died and Spain erupted with pent-up energy. It was a movement that valued style over substance. The cultural revolution was evident in the music, subculture, fashion, alcohol, drugs, and sexual experimentation. La Movida took place primarily in Madrid, although some other cities such as Barcelona and Vigo had their own Movidas. Popular nightlife slang of the time reflected the spirit of the movement: “¿Dónde está la movida?”— “Where’s the action?”

La Movida began when Dictator Francisco Franco died in Madrid on November 19th, 1975. Franco’s 36-year reign had been one in which rigid public and church laws preserved the traditional role of family, enforced formal relations between the sexes, and controlled expression in the press and media. Eager to distance themselves from Franco’s repression and censorship, Spain quickly began the move to democracy called the “Transition”. King Juan Carlos I helped the transition by quickly naming Adolfo Suárez Prime Minister. Spain’s first democratic vote in over 40 years took place in 1977, and a new constitution was signed in 1978. That constitution is still in place now. In 1979, Enrique Tierno Galván became the mayor of Madrid, the capital of Spain. In this position he had a lot of power to help or hinder La Movida. His choices helped Spain to move past its repressive past. Then, in 1982, the Socialist PSOE party, headed by Felipe González, was voted in by a landslide and became Spain’s first leftist government since the 1930s.

Politics had played a large part in the movement’s beginning, and they continued to be...

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...rchangeable term for hedonistic partying. The spirit of the movement lives on in Madrid’s Malasaña neighborhood, the place La Movida was first born. Plaza Dos de Mayo and the surrounding area is frequented by people of all walks of life. Many nightlife premises play music that pays homage to the era.

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"Mirada Frontal, Mirada de Púgil / Gonzalo García Pin" ["Front look, look of Boxer / Gonzalo Garcia

Pin"]. Alberto García Alix. Alberto García Alix, 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2014.

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