Entry 2

BACKGROUND RESEARCH

One of the documentary evidences that we have used in order to know the historical background of the "Movida Madrileña! is "Frenesí en la gran ciudad". This documentary was broadcasted by TVE2 in 2011, and it shows this movement through interviews and opinions of its own main characters.

Promocional photo of the documentary

"Madrid, years 80, it is time of destruction, this movement was like an awakening, and it went from a dark Spain into a Spain of colors".

Important musicians that marked the “Movida Madrileña” were: Nacha Pop, Alaska y los pegamoides, Los Bólidos, Tos (Los Secretos), Radio Futura, Tequila…

Photomontage about some important groups of the mevement

In 1975 Franco’s dictatorship ends with his death and then started the Transition Period.

Madrid before Franco’s death was sad and everything in black and white while after his dictatodhip there was an explosion of color.

The years of the “Movida Madrileña” were called Years of Rock and Roll city. 

It was very important the musical influences that came from outside. One of the persons that introduced enough of this information was Alaska. She brought information from London and that was fundamental.

In this movement the free expression and the revolution of the gays that were dispersed occurred but that fact was important in this movement, producing a great cultural agitation.

Painters, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, designers met in various locations as bars or pubs, to exchange their ideas and culture, normally in the famous district of Malasaña.

District of Malasaña

  

The concert “Homenaje a Canito” (considered as the beginning of “Movida” by many authors) was done at Complutense University in the school of roads, and it showed us everything that was happening in the underground culture.

Poster of the concert, it shows all the groups that participated in it.

In 1979 the first municipal elections of democracy occurred. Madrid counted with Enrique Tierno Galván as mayor, deeply humanist and considered the mayor of La Movida.

The fight against drugs was done in two different ways, one moral and other physical. Drugs played an important role in the musical groups as heroine, speed and amphetamines.

During 1980 – 1982 the groups were visible, heterogeneous and quite a few. The different musical types that you could find in that moment were: punk, after punk, techno and rock.

The sky of Madrid changed thanks to the figure of Torre España, called Pirulí, which was important for the retransmission of the World’s Cup of football in 1982.

Photo of the "Pirulí", one of the most known  buildings in Madrid

Very important is to highlight the attempted coup the 23th of February in 1981 by Tejero, which stirred up people of Movida Madrileña, that were seeing its end.

As in the case of music and art; fashion in the Movida was involved at the same time with the rest of fields. The most important brands were: Adolfo Domínguez, Jesús Del Pozo, and Agatha Ruíz de la Prada. Clothing was very important because was the way of being identified according to your musical or artistical tastes.

Collage of some designs in those years.

Print culture evolved two magazines popping color:

o   - “La Luna”: with more text and less fashionable design.

o   - “Madrid me mata”: with more graphics than literary.

In March of 1985 the famous Rock-Ola club closed because of a street fight that ended with the death of a man.

Photo of Rock-Ola club.

In the lasts years of this decade, the movement was losing strength and little by little it was dissolving or developing into other kinds of art.