Nespresso Magazine #29 Madrid - English edition

MADRID

Autumn 2017 - Winter 2018 € 5,90 SFR 7,00 £ 4.90 $ 8.00

NURIA MORA

PAINTING THE TOWN

CITY GUIDE CLUB MEMBERS’ FAVOURITE PLACES

TEMPLE OF FLAMENCO INSIDE THE LEGENDARY SPANISH DANCE SCHOOL

MASTERING LATTE ART BE A TRUE BARISTA AT HOME

EDITORIAL Jean-Marc Duvoisin

FEEL the tempo!

DEAR CLUB MEMBERS,

“Si estás en Madrid, eres de Madrid” (“If you’re in Madrid, you’re from Madrid”), as the Spanish saying goes. Rare are the cities that welcome you with such abundant hospitality.

To truly be “from Madrid”, you must begin on Gran Vía, the city’s main road, to begin discovering the capital’s myriad facets. Madrid is an incomparable crossroads, a melting pot of people, cultures and atmospheres. As you explore every neighbourhood, each with its own unshakeable, inimitable identity, you will come face-to-face with an array of surprises and experiences. To feel each form of radiant intensity, you must wander deep into the bustling lanes of Lavapiés, stroll in the bohemian heat of Malasaña, sip the classic charm of Chamberí. Here, beauty is everywhere.

Take this magazine in hand, make yourself a cortado – an iconic local beverage prepared with equal parts espresso and milk – and meet fascinating personalities who will usher you through the doors of their cherished city. Nuria Mora, a painter known far beyond Madrid’s city limits, is our citizen of honour. These urban walls are her canvas and she decorates them with luxuriant frescoes, works combining organic and geometric forms that resonate with the atmosphere of Madrid. Take a flamenco lesson at the country’s most prestigious school for that art, Amor de Dios. From one page to the next, you will encounter exceptional craftspersons who are keeping age-old savoir-faire alive while addressing the ecological issues we all face today. And any visit to Madrid simply must include adventures in taste: get to know a community of chefs determined to bring the capital’s culinary traditions into the present. You will learn that Madrid offers far more than its famed treats, the churro and the tortilla: the city is bursting with a dazzling variety of fantastic flavours, magnificent ingredients, authentic tastes and exquisite recipes that are little-known to much of the world. You are invited to recreate these tastes at home, demonstrating the rich, delicious diversity of Spain’s terroirs wherever you may live.

Have you finished your cortado? Now you can go to work on becoming a latte artist. This issue gives you a chance to master – at home – the secrets behind the spectacular techniques of the best baristas. Extend your journey with the new stopovers in our Explorations Collection, which will whisk you away – for just a few weeks! – to the captivating landscapes of Ethiopia and the verdant mountains of Colombia. Also discover how opening a coffee-cherry processing centre in Jardín, Colombia, has improved the lives of coffee growers and protects the environment. In these pages, you have all the ingredients needed to enjoy the pleasure of an exceptional coffee, like a moment warmed by the sun’s rays on a rooftop in Madrid.

May your reading and your coffee both offer you memorable moments, JEAN-MARC DUVOISIN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NESTLÉ NESPRESSO S.A.

3

4

CONTRIBUTORS

Our Team BORIS CORIDIAN Editor-in-Chief

Boris, a food writer and founder of the Les Digitalistes agency, continues his aroundthe-world taste tour with Nespresso. “Madrid literally took us in her arms.

The Spanish capital has an identity that’s as potent as the Fortissio Lungo I drink every morning, both when out on a story and at home.”

CASPAR MISKIN Photographer

Caspar was a chef before becoming a photographer specialising in gastronomy! (What else?)

His Scandinavian roots serve as inspiration in his work, which is honed by minimalism and simplicity. When it comes to coffee, he likes a Ristretto: “At the end of the meal, a short, powerful cup with a hint of acidity really revives me.”

JULIETTE DE CADOUDAL Stylist and Set Designer

As a creative jill-of-all-trades, she uses objects, materials and colours as her media in composing singular worlds to tell a story or generate emotion through interior décor.

“Starting the day with an Envivo Lungo, with a few granules of brown sugar slowly dissolving on the crema, is my ultimate gourmet moment.”

NESPRESSO MAGAZINE is published by the NESTLÉ NESPRESSO S.A. Group Avenue de Rhodanie 40 1007 Lausanne - Switzerland.

PUBLICATION DIRECTOR Jean-Marc Duvoisin.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Lise Peneveyre.

CONCEPT/PRODUCTION LES DIGITALISTES 9, rue Emilio Castelar 75012 Paris, France.

Tel.: +33 (0)1 43 44 55 20 contact@lesdigitalistes.com lesdigitalistes.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Boris Coridian.

ART DIRECTOR Virginie Oudard.

COORDINATOR Sophie Bouniot.

EDITORIAL SECRETARIES Thierry Lepin et Sylvain Maestraggi.

STUDIO MANAGER François Scavo.

COLLABORATORS FOR THIS ISSUE Mickaël A. Bandassak, Juliette de Cadoudal (Royal Ferry), Célia Callois, Audrey Cosson, Marine Durand, Ana Fuentes Fernandez, Virginie Garnier, Icinori, Guillaume Jan, Elie Mauve, Caspar Miskin, Stéphane Remael, Sophie Rivat.

VIRGINIE OUDARD Art Director

Virginie has been a graphic designer for almost twenty years and loves warm, colourful worlds in both her life and her work.

This made Madrid a true revelation for her.

“The intensity of Madrilenian life buoyed us the entire time we were creating this issue.

Including our discovery of the exquisite café con hielo, which I enjoy savouring after a meal.”

CÉLIA CALLOIS Illustrator GUILLAUME JAN Journalist and Writer

This lover of streams and hills writes picaresque stories for several magazines and publishes travel articles.

In the land of Don Quixote, he marvelled at having had the chance to attack the same windmills as the hero of Cervantes’ novel. He drinks an Arpeggio Decaffeinato each night before bedtime.

Using rOtring, her favourite tool, Célia creates illustrations for the press and publishing realms in a blend of graphic design, typography, drawing and colour block.

“After lunch, I like sipping a Vivalto Lungo served in a glass – it’s a soothing moment in my day.”

TRANSLATION TagLine.

PHOTOLITHO Compos Juliot.

PRINTER Mohn media Mohndruck GmbH. ADVERTISING MHD SA Chemin du Bugnon 1 / CP 32 1803 Chardonne - Switzerland.

Customer Relationship Manager: Dominique Breschan.

Tel.:+ 41 (0) 79 818 27 55 dominique.breschan@mhdsa.ch This magazine is printed on paper certified by:

© Copyright 2017 Nestlé Nespresso S.A. All rights reserved. Nespresso, the names of the various Nespresso coffee varieties and the Nespresso logos mentioned in Nespresso Magazine are trademarks of the Société des Produits Nestlé S.A. that may be registered in certain countries.

CONTENTS Fall-Winter 2017-2018

p. 14

p. 28

p. 34 p. 48

p. 60

p. 44 p. 70

3

EDITORIAL

NOW 6 CALENDAR 12 THE N MOMENT

The Madrilenian Coffee Break

DESTINATION MADRID 14 CITY GUIDE

five CluB MeMBers share Their favouriTe plaCes

28 CITIZEN OF HONOUR

nuria Mora shades of spain 34 CULINARY CULTURE

savouring The CapiTal 44 PERFORMING ART

The BeaTing hearT of flaMenCo 48 IN THE STREETS OF LAVAPIÉS

Madrid’s MelTing poT

p. 84

52 CULT OBJECT

BoTaniCal BeasTs 54 CONTEMPORARY CREATION

arTisTiC revoluTion 58 AN EXTRAORDINARY STORY

Café soCieTy

p. 88

88 CREATISTA PLUS

freesTyle 92 ENVIRONMENT

The BuTTerfly effeCT 96 READY-TO-GIVE

ode To Joy!

60 SUSTAINABLE FASHION

a ColleCTion of good inTenTions

64 THE MILLS OF LA MANCHA

The gianTs’ seCond Wind 70 GOURMET COFFEE

sWeeT TreaTs

NESPRESSO & YOU 76 EXPLORATIONS COLLECTION

The Journey ConTinues 80 VIEW COLLECTION

parTners in TiMe 84 ESSENZA MINI

Big pleasures, sMall paCkages

COFFEE MARK

nuria Mora RECIPES

food-Coffee pairings INFORMATION

addresses and The Madrid CiTy guide Map

5

NOW Madrid

Architect Norman Foster chose Madrid as the home for his foundation.

CREATIVE LATITUDES Whether in art,

design or fashion, inspiration cares nothing for time zones.

Wherever on earth you may be, you Will find something to appreciate in our cultural calendar.

By Sophie Rivat

madrid A Life’s Work Created in 1999 by British architect Norman Foster, the foundation that bears his name just left London to settle in Madrid. Why the Castilian capital? At the official opening banquet, the founder of the Foster + Partners agency and winner of the 1999 Pritzker Prize spoke of the decisive influence his Spanish wife, Elena Ochoa, had on that choice.

Now, the Chamberí diplomatic district is benefitting from a glorious architectural undertaking: Norman Foster renovated a 1912 mansion and paired it with a futuristic glass pavilion. The historic building

houses an interdisciplinary study centre dedicated to sustainable urban development. Here, researchers can consult the archives of the agency’s more than 74,000 projects: drawings and models of airports, museums, skyscrapers, parliaments and more. The new pavilion provides a superb exhibition space for objects that have inspired this grand master of kinetic form. Tours, by appointment, are the chance to wander in this wonderland of architecture and design. Thank you, Mrs Foster. > normanfosterfoundation.org

Courtesy Norman Foster Foundation.

6

NOW Europe france BeWiTCHiNG eMBroiDerY

italy TUrN

For visual artist and artisan Pascale Nivet-Bernetière, founder of the Céleste Mogador label, embroidery is like breathing. Her one-of-a-kind creations – necklaces, brooches, ties, shoes – are born of traditional Breton techniques updated with new materials, like silk thread, crystal beads and Miyuki gold-plated beads. Visual extravagance expressed with handcrafted elegance. > celeste-mogador.com

2017, Crizu, All Rights Reserved; Pablo Picasso The Dream, 1932, Private Collection, Succession Picasso/DACS, London 2017; Clémence Thévenot/Octopus.

THe PAGe

Milanese Anna Bonino applies the Japanese art of origami to the pages of old, abandoned books.

Beneath the delicate touch of her fingers, aged tomes are resurrected into unique works that are prized by decorators, while other pages become jewellery rife with meaning (photo).

“An original way to wear a piece of history, culture, aesthetics,” explains the designer behind the Crizu brand. > crizu.it

great britain PiCAsso

.

PAssioN london’s tate modern taKes a closer looK at the artist’s WorKs from a decisive year in picasso’s career. a chronological presentation of hundreds of paintings, sculptures and WorKs on paper demonstrates the sensual mastery that he acQuired over those months, When his time Was divided betWeen paris and normandy. a year of contem plation, invention and eXpression. >

1932,

Picasso 1932 – Love, Fame,

Tragedy, 8 March-9 September 2018, tate.org.uk

spain NeW WAVe

In Barcelona, budding brand Octaevo is bringing a breath of fresh air to the world of stationery and décor.

From ancient mythology to the magic of travel, these collections of notebooks, posters and paper vases (photo) are skilful interpretations of chromatic variations and the expressiveness of form, celebrating every moment of life. Preferably along the Mediterranean. > octaevo.com

7

NOW Europe

8

s

i

.

pain N THe LiGHT the fundaciÓn marcelino botÍn has chosen eXciting premises for its rich cultural programme: a neW art centre in santander, cantabria. this 10,000 -sQuare-metre building facing the atlantic is the WorK of italian architect renzo piano. perched on stilts, the structu re’s tWo rounded spaces are connected by steel-and -glass sKyWalKs. the faÇade, an assemblage of 280,000 ceramic tiles, WinKs and shimmers in a symphony of reflected light. don’t miss the temporary eXhibition of ethiopian-born painter Julie mehretu, on display through 28 January

2018. > centrobotin.org

sWeden MArBLiNG THe fUTUre

Marbling, a very popular technique in stationery and the binding arts, is a traditional ornamentation craft that creates patterns resembling marble or other stone.

Clara Bergman, the young founder of Studio Formata, applies these singular, colourful designs to trays that are handmade from Swedish materials. Each article is unique – designed for breakfast in bed, serving cocktails –, swirling and bursting in exquisite chromatic harmony.

netherlands ViNCeNT VAN GoGH’s JAPAN

Japanese aesthetics were a substantial influence on the celebrated painter. Though Van Gogh studied Japanese art by reading many books on the subject, his extensive collection of Far Eastern prints also shaped his pictorial language and had an impact on the way he painted nature.

Learn more at Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum. > Van Gogh and Japan, 23 March-24 June 2018,

vangoghmuseum.nl

De zaaier Vincent van Gogh, 1888, Van Gogh Museum.

> studioformata.se

NOW Americas United States LiTerArY MUseUM

Chicago is giving American writers their own museum!

This one-of-a-kind institution spans five centuries of literature through interactive displays, making it possible for the works of the country’s most famous authors to be discovered free of any daunting academic pall. An example: along the visitor path, astounding wall-mounted boxes hold content designed for touching, hearing or smelling, highlighting emblematic substances linked to a writer or one of his or her works: the scent of the Walden woods for Henry David Thoreau, fresh-baked cookies for Julia Child. A museum with the power to revive a love of reading. > americanwritersmuseum.org

United States TrAVeL AGeNT

“Model influencer”, art director and fashion consultant Sofía Sanchez de Betak – alias Chufy – is New York’s “girl of the moment”. Perpetually busy with multiple projects, the wife of French designer and scenographer Alexandre de Betak shares highlights of her nomadic lifestyle in a richly illustrated book. > Travels with Chufy, Assouline, 192 pages

colombia CAriBBeAN CoLoUrs. they are a dynamic duo, indeed colombia’s ana marÍa calderÓn Kayser, founder of the ames brand. W : german designer sebastian herKner and hen these tWo travel together in her native land, Wonders never cease, liKe their caribe outdoo r furniture collection. collaboratively designed , these tables, chairs and benches all have tubular metal frames Wrapped in crisscrossed plastic cord in lively, tropica l colours. each piece is handWoven by artisans from santa marta, colombia. > ames-sh op.de

argentina WArrior JeWeLLerY

In Buenos Aires’ fashionable Recoleta district, jewellery designer Federico Alzaga presents his Andean-inspired jewellery in a minimalist showroom. These pieces – creations with simple, elegant lines forged of gold and silver from the Cordillera – summon the strength of the ancient mountain gods. Visits by appointment. > aracano.com

9

NOW Asia

10

china WorkoUT WoNDers

Hong Kong designer Edmond Wong made news at the last Milan furniture fair with his Fit-niture, beautiful, practical designs in which fitness meets furniture. His creations act as both furnishings for living and equipment for workouts. Each article morphs from one use to the other with ease: from settee to fitness bench (photo), from lamp to dumbbells. The perfect way to hide a gym in your living room. > edmondwongstudio.com

taiWan BLess THe BeAsTs

A flock of birds, a school of goldfish, an owl silhouetted against the moon – the life-like menagerie created by Taiwanese studio Haoshi Design brings poetic beauty and nature’s gentle touch to discerning interiors. From clipboard to clock, light fixtures to jewellery, the collections have taken wing and fin, arriving in Asia in an initial concept store that opened in Shanghai’s Pudong district in the summer of 2017. > haoshi.com.tw

Japan WAGYU

.

sHoWCAse toKyo’s sagaya ginza restaurant affords Wagyu beef all the respect it deserves. the tsuKihana digital art room, designed by Japan ’s teamlab digital art collective, guests – Just eight a day – are immersed in a true sensory eXperience. digital birds and other natural designs Whirl and glide in a dreamliKe landscape determined by What is on the plate, hoW it is presented, and the customers’ oWn actions. magical.

in

> sagaya-ginza.com

NOW World israel MorAL fiBre

In Tel Aviv, a growing company named Iota produces an original collection of handcrafted carpets, cushions and poufs through equally original means. The firm was founded on a social mission that assists a network of women in challenging life circumstances by teaching them to knit and crochet. Iota is headed by founder Shula Mozes, Artistic Director Tal Zur and Textile Designer Lion Ben Aroosh. The trio selects high-end materials in contemporary patterns and colours and intends to introduce similar initiatives in other countries. > iotaproject.com

cÔte d’ivoire fUsioN fAsHioN

Ivorian designer Loza Maléombho is on a roll! This 30-year-old Brazil native works in both New York and Abidjan, the place where her collections are produced, steeped in the stylistic influences of their homeland.

With bold cuts and a refreshing combination of materials, the up-and-coming brand is winning over American stars like Beyoncé and Solange Knowles. > lozamaleombho.com

s

a

s

.

outh frica iLo reNAissANCe cape toWn is providing a fantastic shoWca se for 21st-century african arts With the opening of the eagerly aWaited zeitz m useum of contemporary art africa (zeitz mocaa ), home to the collection of businessman Jochen zeitz. the buildin g, set on the victoria & alfred Waterfront, is the WorK of british architect thomas heatherWicK, Who gave a cluster of old grain elevators neW life. must-sees: the faÇade ’s hypnotic geometrics and the silo hotel at the top, offering 28 rooms With a dizzying vieW! > zeitzmocaa.museum

cameroon BAVAriA reVisiTeD

The Noh Nee label was founded in Munich by two French-speaking Cameroonian sisters who have made a name for themselves by reinterpreting the traditional dress of Bavarian domestic workers – the dirndl – with African flair. Their dress, bag (photo), scarf and jewellery collections are produced in small workshops in West Africa and are selling like hotcakes just about everywhere. > nohnee.com

11

12

NOW The N Moment

and olive oil. The manager, who knows her habits, serves it before she even places her order. “In Spain, the days begin around 8 or 9 o’clock, like they do elsewhere in Europe, but then the timing shifts substantially,” Ana notes. “Our morning break is around 11:30 a.m. – we drink some coffee, have a snack. This helps us hold out until lunchtime, which, for us, is around 2:30 p.m. Then the day’s activities resume at around 4:30 p.m., and then we work until 9:00 p.m. to catch up on the day’s backlog. Which isn’t a very rational way of doing things!”

A CROSS-SECTION OF MADRID

The MADRILENIAN coffee break

By Guillaume Jan Illustration Célia Callois

WHITE SHIRT, CERISE TIE, STOCKY BUILD: LA PLAZA’S MANAGER IS BUSTLING BEHIND HIS WOODEN COUNTER. It is 11 o’clock and it will soon be time for the

almuerzo, the morning coffee break. “It’s my favourite,” says the fishmonger at the neighbouring market, who has slipped discreetly over to enjoy a cortado – an espresso with a dash of milk, to cut the bitterness – in this small bar in a northern Madrid neighbourhood. “It’s not an on-the-dot event, but you’ll often see the same people,” explains Ana, who lives close by. When she is not covering a story in Beijing or New York, this elegant journalist likes to take a morning break, coming down to drink a café solo (black coffee) and savour a barrita con tomate – a slice of bread spread with crushed tomato

At the back of the room, an old man quietly reads the match scores for Real Madrid and Atlético in Marca, the top sports daily newspaper. A small television, its volume muted, shares the same information, as though not wishing to disturb the still-peaceful atmosphere of this sultry morning. A few new customers come in: three suit-and-tie executives from the neighbouring bank, a delivery driver, two paramedics in immaculate uniforms and a postman. Each one orders his or her own coffee, with more or less milk, more or less sugar, presented in a porcelain cup or a clear glass and all served with tapas or bocadillos (mini-sandwiches). In a matter of moments, the place is packed – the room resounds with the clinking of spoons, loud voices, laughter and the easy banter of this eclectic clientele. An elegantly dressed retired woman jokes with an aged rocker in a well-worn biker jacket, a sweeper enjoys a café con leche and a croissant. The mood is warm, friendly, effervescent. For a half an hour, we observe an exquisite and passionate cross-section of Madrilenian life before everyone goes back to their respective lives – except the old man at the back of the room who, utterly unperturbed, continues to contemplate his newspaper. n

14

CITY Guide

MADRID, MI AMOR

FESTIVE, SUN-DRENCHED, SOPHISTICATED – THE SPANISH CAPITAL HAS NOW CAPTURED THE ATTENTION OF THE ENTIRE WORLD. THIS CITY, SET IN THE COUNTRY’S CENTRE, IS A CORNUCOPIA FOR THOSE WHO HAVE MADE IT THEIR HOME. HAVING BECOME MADRILENIANS OUT OF SHEER LOVE FOR THE CITY, FIVE NESPRESSO CLUB MEMBERS SHARE THEIR SENSATIONS AND THEIR FAVOURITE PLACES.

By Boris Coridian Photos Mickaël A. Bandassak and Stéphane Remael (pp. 14-15)

You’ll find all the locations mentioned in this City Guide on our map in the back of the magazine.

Narrow streets add to the charm of the Lavapiés quarter.

17 At the Cine Doré, the framed face of the celebrated Spanish director.

18 KERMAN, BRAND MANAGER, CLUB MEMBER SINCE 2011 LIKE MANY OF MADRID’S INHABITANTS, KERMAN WAS NOT BORN IN THE SPANISH CAPITAL.

“I’m a new Madrilenian. I’ve lived here for five years, but I’ve always felt at home in this city. It’s one that’s open to all cultures and identities.

You can’t simply visit Madrid – you have to live it! People tend to compare it to Barcelona, but each has its own style.” This stylish young man is a literature enthusiast and travelled the world before returning to Spain.

“I grew up in the Basque Country before studying in London and Mexico City. I stay firmly in touch with my roots through my love of coffee. My grandmother used to say, ‘The smell of coffee is the sign of a good home!’”

Kerman was 17 when he started drinking coffee with his classmates.

“There was a bistro next door to my high school, where we carried on our never-ending conversations. We were remaking the world. Today, I start each day with a cup of ENVIVO LUNGO or FORTISSIO LUNGO to get myself up and running. I really enjoy the Lungos, because they make the pleasure last.”

WIDE ANGLE LA FÁBRICA 1

“What could be better than enjoying a coffee after a photo exhibition? This hybrid establishment – equal parts gallery, bookshop, boutique and café – is where Spain’s photography revival first started, with the PhotoEspaña festival.

When I’m walking through Las Huertas, where La Fábrica is located, I feel that all the neighbourhood’s cultural venues are utterly connected to each other.”

19 THE SUN GOD TEMPLO DE DEBOD 2

“Visitors too often ignore this splendour, and they’re really missing out! Not only is there this exquisite Egyptian temple from the second century BC, given to Spain by Egypt in 1968, but this hill is the place to watch the city’s most beautiful sunsets.

It’s another world, and a favourite hang-out for Madrid’s younger generations.”

FINE WRITING, FINE WINE TIPOS INFAMES 4

“It’s as hard for me to choose a book as it is to choose a Grand Cru. The sales advice at this bookstore is invaluable.

As is the variety of wines that can be enjoyed between tomes.

I’d recommend sampling two of my favourite Spanish authors, Eduardo Mendoza and Javier Cercas.”

SERENE BREAKFAST BOSCO DE LOBOS 3

“This Italian-inspired restaurant is right downtown and an ideal place to relax. You have to enter through the courtyard of the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid, the city’s architectural school.

It’s a modern, elegant spot with lush greenery, a pleasant place where I love having a drink or getting some work done in the peace and quiet.”

“You can’t simply visit Madrid – you have to live it!”

FOR MEN ONLY BARBERÍA MALAYERBA 5

“A beard is no longer taken as a sign of negligence, but of elegance. And there’s a new generation of barbers backing this revolution, with shops where those who come in for a trim can sip coffee or a beer while chatting with other customers.

My beard is part of my style and I take care of it!”

20 TROPICAL TONE RESTAURANTE PERRACHICA 6

“The ambiance in this restaurant in the Chamberí district is rendered all the more exotic by the room’s sheer size.

The menu is Spanish-inspired, but tinged with Japanese and Italian influences.

You can look down into the kitchen below from the middle of the main room.”

“I can’t imagine living anywhere else but in this city I so love.”

SPANISH INGREDIENTS, NORDIC INSPIRATION FISMULER 7

“This restaurant gives pride of place to top-quality ingredients and a sustainable-development approach. The international menu nevertheless bears Spanish touches and Nordic influences.

The plates are very pure and down-to-earth. My wife loves it and so do I.”

IBERIAN EXPERIENCE ULTRAMARINOS QUINTÍN 8

“All of Spain in a single place.

This bar-restaurant has a grocery store with a nice selection of local products including; ham, anchovies, cheeses, and a fruit and vegetable stand. It’s rather chic, but has an informal, relaxed atmosphere. I love having a glass of wine there before sampling one of their delicious specialties.”

21 MIGUEL, ENTREPRENEUR, CLUB MEMBER SINCE 2008 “IN MADRID, PEOPLE TAKE THE TIME TO LIVE!” EXCLAIMS THIS ELEGANT FORTY-SOMETHING GENTLEMAN.

While every minute counts in the life of this entrepreneur, he never misses the chance to join family or friends in savouring all the dining pleasure the capital has to offer. “I was born in Barcelona, but I came to Madrid to build my business. I’m Catalan through and through, but I can’t imagine living anywhere else but in this city I so love. Madrid is hospitable, comfortable and convenient.”

Of the many places Miguel frequents, he has a soft spot in his heart for the Nespresso Boutique. “When I met the woman who would become my wife, that’s where we went to have coffee.

Since then, things have gone pretty well,” this father of three little girls confesses with warmth. “Since then, we’ve gotten into the habit of coming here every Saturday to stock up on capsules for the week.” Though his wife keeps her consumption to two cups a day, Miguel consumes Lungos all day long: “Four in the morning and three in the afternoon. I appreciate the balance of the VIVALTO LUNGO and the richness of the FORTISSIO LUNGO.”

TRAINS AND TRENDS MERCADO DE MOTORES q0

“Fashion accessories, vintage articles and culinary specialities from every corner of the world, all wrapped in a concert-like atmosphere this is Madrid’s coolest market!

It’s held the second weekend of every month inside the railway museum, amidst the locomotives and vintage train cars.

It’s a perfect example of the city’s wacky, offbeat spirit.”

CHOCOLATE AND CHURROS CHOCOLATERÍA SAN GINÉS 9

“This legendary chocolate factory was founded in 1894, and this is the place where we celebrate my daughters’ birthdays. Dunk one of their crisp churros into a cup of hot chocolate and you’ll never want to leave. And the temptation is never-ending, because the store is open 24 hours a day.”

22 ANCIENT MASTERS THE PRADO MUSEUM qq

“Whenever my family comes to town, I use their visit as a reason to go and admire the jewels of Spanish art at this institution. Though the masterpieces by Velazquez, Goya and El Greco are alone worth the trip, be sure to check out the temporary exhibits, which are always of exceptional quality.”

MARÍA JOSÉ AIR-TRAFFIC CONTROLLER CLUB MEMBER SINCE 2005 IF YOU’RE IN MADRID, it’s thanks in part to María José. “I became an air-traffic controller almost by chance,” says this energetic mum.

“I first learned about this job on television and knew right away that it was perfect for me. I like everything about this business, which takes tremendous focus and concentration. And I appreciate the many moments of relaxation the city offers.” María José is also a pioneer in its coffee culture: “I started going to Madrid’s first Nespresso Boutique when it first opened in 2001. I’d discovered the system abroad and I was looking forward to the day it arrived in Spain.

I immediately fell in love with the aromas. And because I often have to work odd hours, I have a machine at work. I always have RISTRETTO and ROSABAYA DE COLOMBIA capsules on hand. What’s more, I’ve since discovered the EXPLORATIONS Collection, with its LAOS BOLAVEN PLATEAU and KENYA PEABERRY. I’m eager to taste coffees from exciting and exceptional terroirs.”

JUST LIKE HOME LA TABERNA PEDRAZA qs

“I eat at this restaurant every day. I don’t cook much – only the annual Christmas dinner – and I really like the simple but superbly prepared dishes they serve at this family establishment.

Their omelette is famous, so be sure to try it!”

23 CULTURAL VIEWS CÍRCULO DE BELLAS ARTES qd

“This cultural centre always has high-quality programming (art, photography, dance, cinema, and more) and has one of the most gorgeous terraces in Madrid. You can sit beneath the sky at any of the several bars in this vast space and take in a panoramic view of the city.”

OPERATIC INKLINGS TEATRO DE LA ZARZUELA qf

“Zarzuela is a musical genre that originated in Spain in the 17th century. It’s akin to opera, but is somewhat lighter. There’s nothing like spending an evening in this magnificent theatre to wash away the stress of the day.”

“I appreciate the many moments of relaxation the city offers.”

GOING GREEN BUEN RETIRO PARK qg

“The walkways, lake, pools and vast expanses of lawn are part of every Madrilenian’s daily life. There’s another, lesser-known park outside Madrid that I also love - Parque de El Capricho.

It’s a veritable labyrinth of flowers, a true work of art, which opened in 1784.”

24 URBAN EDEN EL JARDÍN DE SB qk

“You’d hardly know this secret garden was there, tucked up and away on the floors of the Salvador Bachiller accessory boutique.

A hideaway where you can take a break and have a drink in the shade of the bamboo screens and the refreshing, verdant plants. Simply magical.”

STREET-FOOD BONANZA YATAI MARKET qj

“A plethora of Asian street-food outlets in downtown Madrid!

Curry, ramen, sushi, dim sum, phad Thai – there’s something from every land in a superb, bustling market atmosphere.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Japanese gardens – Japan is one of my next destinations.”

“Madrid gives me everything I need.”

GLUTEN FREE CAFETERÍA SANA LOCURA qh

“The gluten-free trend is relatively new to Madrid, but is gaining momentum.

This new bakery and pastry shop sells all kinds of gluten-free breads and delicious cakes, but is also a cafeteria, perfect for a quick lunch.”

LA ISLA BONITA LADY MADONNA ql

“Lady Madonna sits in a pretty cobbled lane, serving modern Spanish cuisine with international flair. It can be very hard to choose between croquetas de jamón, a mini bao sandwich or kimchi-flavoured pork.

The décor is eclectic, and there’s an inviting terrace to relax on.”

25 JORDI LANDSCAPE ENGINEER CLUB MEMBER SINCE 2009 MADRID, THOUGH A DENSE AND NOISY CAPITAL, IS ALSO A CITY WHERE NATURE FINDS LUXURIANT EXPRESSION. Jordi, a landscaper

with a public-park management company, is one of those helping create and preserve this harmony. “I’m a city dweller who loves green spaces,” explains this Catalan who became a Madrilenian after earning his degree.

Jordi, with personal style as manicured as the paths of the Sabatini Gardens he so loves, grew up in the countryside.

“My parents are farmers. They grow grapes and olives near Tarragona, south-west of Barcelona.” He likes to relax and recharge in Madrid’s parks: “The Retiro, of course, the biggest and most iconic. Though there’s room for improvement, the city has very beautiful, well-tended gardens that are perfect for strolling.”

Beyond his nature walks, Jordi loves his adopted city for its energy and hospitality: “Madrid gives me everything I need. The streets are a party in themselves, there are countless cultural options of every ilk. I live in the Latina district, which has a very village-like vibe, a friendly mix of people.”

His other pleasure is the sensations to be enjoyed in a cup of coffee.

“I like everything: the aroma, the flavour, the silky texture. I’m a die-hard ROMA fan, drinking it in Espresso or Cortado, with a splash of milk.”

THE TASTE OF MADRID MERCADO DE SAN MIGUEL s0

“A must! The stalls of this covered market have given way to a variety of dining areas. You can spend time with friends, munching on fried squid, all washed down with a cold beer.”

SPANISH ROMANCE SABATINI GARDENS sq

“Small, neoclassical gardens set below the Royal Palace.

The location and geometric patterns make them some of the most beautiful gardens in the city. Lovers appreciate the romantic atmosphere by the light of the setting sun.”

26 DANIELA AUDIO-VISUAL PRODUCER AND JOURNALIST, CLUB MEMBER SINCE 2016 “I’M LIVING A LOVE STORY WITH THIS CITY. My job lets me travel

all over the world. But ever time I come home to Madrid, I fall in love all over again with the streets. This city takes me in its arms and makes everything seem easy,” says Daniela, with feeling.

This young woman of a thousand projects lives in the Royal Palace neighbourhood, where every street, every cobblestone, every house seems to murmur the legend of the city.

“When I’m out strolling, I’m also breathing in a grandiose atmosphere steeped in history and tradition.”

But entrepreneur and world traveller Daniela does not live in the past.

“Madrid is changing with time, at its own pace, while preserving its soul and identity.” Daniela recommends diving into the capital’s newest dining establishments, burgeoning everywhere in this city of growing gourmandise. Her daily pleasure is redolent of coffee: “Each morning, I open my window overlooking the San Francisco el Grande basilica while making myself ROSABAYA DE COLOMBIA with milk. It’s more than just a morning habit – it’s an intimate ritual, a ceremony designed to make breakfast a perfect moment.”

FLAVOUR FIESTA RESTAURANTE NAVAJA ss

“One of my favourite places in Madrid. The restaurant – behind the bar – is very small, but its fried soft-shell crab bun is sensational. Eating that with a Pisco sour is the perfect combination for an excellent start to the night.”

NEWSWORTHY FARE EL IMPARCIAL sd

“This imposing building used to be the headquarters of the El Imparcial newspaper. Today, it’s a trendy restaurant, with a gallery and a shop where you can buy fashion magazines and art books. If you go, you absolutely must try their Cosmopolitan.”

27

SEVENTH HEAVEN EL PARACAIDISTA sf

“This concept store is in the middle of Malasaña, the neighbourhood where the Movida counterculture movement was born.

It has a selection of designer, fashion and lifestyle articles and six floors to explore including; a movie theatre, art gallery, rooftop and Cuban bar – all with modern, colourful spirit.”

“Madrid is changing, while preserving its soul and identity.”

DINING WITH THE STARS EL LANDÓ sg

“Countless movie, music and sports stars have eaten at this traditional restaurant – even the royal family has dined here. Nevertheless, the market-cuisine menu is still quite affordable.

The breaded escalope is a gem, not to mention the huevos rotos con patatas.

An institution!”

TRADITION AND TRENDS CELSO Y MANOLO sh

“This tasca (tavern) offers contemporary interpretations of Spanish culinary classics, making it the perfect place to discover the true taste of Madrid. Ham with toasted almonds, bocadillo de calamares, anchovy fillets in oil – it’s all simply luscious. A must!”

CITIZEN of Honour

NURIA MORA SHADES OF SPAIN

MADRILENIAN ARTIST NURIA MORA – INFINITELY TALENTED, YET EMINENTLY UNCLASSIFIABLE – PAINTS LAVISH, COLOURFUL DECORATIONS OF HER OWN INVENTION ON THE WALLS OF HER CITY AND IN RETAIL OUTLETS OF MAJOR INTERNATIONAL BRANDS.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Stéphane Remael

29

30

LIGHT BEARER From the walls

of the city to those of her studio, Nuria Mora explores the realms of shape and colour.

IN A STRIPED T-SHIRT, SNUG-FITTING JEANS AND A TURQUOISE BIKE HELMET STRAPPED OVER HER LONG, BLACK HAIR, Nuria Mora barrels into the city perched on a red Vespa.

Cheery and energetic, she parks her scooter between two aging sedans and enters the narrow streets of El Rastro – lively terraces, wrought-iron balconies, windows framed by fluttering laundry. It is 10 p.m., the sun has set, but the heart of this working-class neighbourhood is still thudding vigorously. The artist walks briskly, a pink bag slung over her shoulder, then veers away from the street lamps toward an abandoned building: this is the site she has chosen for her next fresco. She opens her mysterious pink bag, unfolding it into the shape of a cross on the sidewalk. Inside are brushes of every size, tubes of gouache, multi-coloured flasks and a bulky roll of scotch tape. She glances stealthily to the left, then to the right, and then the dexterous night owl begins delineating geometric forms in scotch tape on a concrete surface before starting to paint, meticulously, yet with great serenity. A swathe of bright pink, another of fiery red, a white border – and that’s just for starters. She then chooses a slimmer brush and sets to tracing botanical arabesques of sapphire blue. Across the alley, an elderly lady leans out her window, studies the artist’s work, then congratulates her. Nuria smiles in reply and exchanges a few remarks. Next, a passer-by walking his dog stops to observe the creation in progress. “Pretty, very pretty,” he enthuses, before continuing on his way. “My geometric shapes create

a dialogue with the lines of the city,” explains the young woman. She uncaps a tube of gouache and continues: “The colours I use also dialogue with the urban space. They contrast with the surface I’m painting on.” Nuria has been exercising her talents on the façades of Madrid and many other cities of the world for the past eighteen years and has developed a very personal, vibrant and electric palette: red, blue, pink, yellow, turquoise. Her abstract style – primitive shapes and sharp angles graced and enlaced by delicate herbal ornamentation – is easily recognisable because it is unique in the repertoire of public-space art. “I’ve painted illegally, yes. But when the police show up, I don’t run away – I smile and explain what I’m doing and why. I know I’m crossing a legal line, but I do it anyway, in the name of beauty. Though I’ve had to pay a few fines, overall the reactions have been fairly positive.” Her frescoes are a visual gift to pedestrians. A way to add enchantment to the walls of Madrid.

URBAN ABSTRACTION

Her first painted mural dates back to 1999. She was a Bellas Artes student at the time, one who knew nothing about the graffiti culture but was in love with a French street artist who signed his designs ‘Eltono’. “His work was all about simplification and purity. I took his approach further still, stretching my frescoes all the way into abstraction.” She was 25, nearly an elder stateswoman in a world in which artists tend to start

FIVE TURNING POINTS FOR NURIA MORA Born in Madrid.

Enters the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.

Paints her first murals.

2010 Offered a residency at Johannesburg’s Nirox Foundation and exhibits at the JAG, the city’s contemporary art museum.

2014 Travels from Madrid to Porto

by Vespa. Later makes several other two-wheeled trips across Spain.

2016 Decorates Facebook’s offices in London after doing their Madrid premises the year before.

1974 1999

practicing in their teens, and surely the only woman to paint in the streets of the Spanish capital. Nuria, who has always sought personal freedom, takes this singularity in stride. The eldest of three children, she grew up in Madrid’s northern suburbs, raised by demanding but open-minded parents – her mother works in television, her father is an architect. “At home, there were always a lot of pencils around and I was drawing all the time, and I already loved colours. My mother hung my creations on the living-room wall.” After graduating from high school, she spent time trying to find herself and began studying architecture, then interior design, then enrolled in a mathematics university. “It was all the harder to find my way because my parents agreed with every choice I made. They even encouraged me.” When she finally entered Madrid’s Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in 1999, all her previous experiences came into play: mathematics, in her works’ geometric forms; architecture, with her artistic embellishments on façades and design, with the rise of artistic expression within urban constraints. “Unlike many graffiti artists, when I started painting by night on the walls of Madrid, I didn’t hide it from my parents. Once again, they benevolently hailed my efforts.” Did the great Pablo Picasso’s Cubist period influence the younger Nuria’s artistic expression? “Picasso is a very influential artist and some of his most celebrated paintings are indeed in Madrid, so you could assume some kind of connection there.

But if I had to identify my influences, an important one would

actually be Sonia Delaunay, a Ukrainian painter who forged a career in France in the early 20th century. She invented her own style, conducted research on colour, experimented with different media and was very involved in abstract art.”

PLENTEOUS PLANTS

Nuria Mora adds a final touch of blue to her urban fresco, takes three steps back, judges her work as satisfactory and swiftly puts away the brushes and tubes of gouache that she had lined up at her feet. She does not sign the work – her style is personal enough. In fact, she long let her identity remain a mystery. In her early years, to earn her keep, she worked as a flight attendant for a low-cost airline: “The working conditions were awful, but I got to travel for free, which gave me the chance to paint walls in a number of the world’s cities.” She took advantage of stops in São Paulo, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and Cape Town to perfect her technique. At the same time, the young woman began examining how advertising images were invading public space and made a game of altering advertising posters by saturating them with colours. “I wanted to •••

32 VINTAGE Life according

to Nuria Mora: painting, flea market and scooter.

“I like bringing art into places that have no filters.”

nourish these spaces with art. To put it more broadly, I like bringing art into places that have no filters”. To that end, in 2013, she transformed the backlit sign of a ready-to-wear brand into a luxurious botanical motif that obscured the sign’s marketing message. The artist was hit with a lawsuit, but, having not actually defiled or damaged the brand, escaped the standard punishment. This rather sensational unfolding caught the attention of Facebook, which appreciated her fresh style and asked if she would decorate their corporate offices in Madrid and London. Now, the radiant Madrilenian tells us, she is increasingly contacted with this kind of order for her work, or asked to exhibit in international galleries. She was on display this fall at Patricia Amorcida (Milan) and will be exhibiting in February at the Delimbo Gallery (Seville), then at Station Sixteen (Montreal, Canada) next summer.

It is two days later and we are in her apartment in Madrid’s Lavapiés neighbourhood. Nuria lives beneath the tiled roof of an aging building in a charming, immaculate duplex that she redecorated into her own ivory tower. It has an uncompromising sweetness all of its own: the angular lines of the staircase are softened by a profusion of plants and flowers.

The living room opens onto a terrace where she can contemplate the cascading roofs of this working-class district.

Before this captivating sight, serenaded by the songs of swallows and turtledoves, it is easy to understand why she has never wanted to leave Madrid. “During my nocturnal

outings, I learned to examine the city with a sharper, keener eye. I realised how rich and varied its architecture is, but I also witnessed the destruction of magnificent buildings that had extraordinary histories. By painting in the street, I’m doing what I can to give a second chance to the spaces that have their own beauty, beauty that we fail to notice day after day.” More than anything, what makes her love his city – and something that many travellers adore in this city of surprises – is the party culture and easy-going and flowing nightlife.

“Madrid is a welcoming city. Human relations are less complicated here than in other cities, like Barcelona. We’re still spontaneous and are naturally direct and passionate. I think we’re more like North Africans than Europeans. We’re not so plan-oriented – we spend our days adjusting our schedules to the circumstances that crop up, doing so until late in the evening. And this means we sleep less, which is probably why the people of Madrid like to drink several cups of coffee in the morning.” On her computer screen, she shows us a broad cross-section of her work: her canvases, inlays, embroideries, glass engravings, carpets and sculptures. In her personal library, she has preserved an aged edition of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. “All artists resemble the character of Don Quixote in some way,” she remarks.

“We all have windmills in our heads; we let ourselves be overwhelmed by crazy dreams. And Don Quixote really exemplifies the Spanish temperament, a bit mad, but very loyal.” Nuria is very attached to her hometown, but remains curious about the world and recounts the many trips she has made on her indefatigable Vespa: “I love my life as it is, but I have no fear of the future. I could live anywhere, with a tent and a scooter.” A free woman, indeed. n

NURIA MORA’S FIVE FAVOURITE SPOTS IN MADRID

LA RIBERA sk

“Another place near my studio, in the El Rasto neighbourhood. A small,

down-to-earth bar where I like to drink a coffee or a Casera, the Spaniards’ favourite citrus soda.”

JEWELLERY STORE HELENA ROHNER sl

“Her earrings, necklaces and rings have pure, uncluttered, very contemporary lines.

I painted a wall in her

boutique and designed a necklace for her.”

VESPA ORTEGA d0

“I’m a regular at this shop that sells and repairs scooters. It has a friendly atmosphere and all the parts and accessories I need for my faithful Vespa.”

PESETA dq

“Laura Martínez just opened a new shop.

She and her team design and sew bags, clothes, accessories and more, all in elegant, sturdy fabrics.” > You’ll find all the locations on our map in the back of the magazine.

© Makeup: Sabrina Lázard

SANTURCE BAR sj

“A small, working-class restaurant, almost right across from my studio, where you can nibble on excellent grilled sardines.”

TEMPTING Churros dipped in

hot chocolate sauce are an anytime treat!

CULINARY Culture

35

SAVOURING

IN THE

CAPITAL THERE’S MUCH TO BE RELISHED IN MADRILENIAN TRADITION. THE CITY’S CUISINE IS FINE AND FAR-REACHING, MAKING THE MOST OF INGREDIENTS FROM ALL OVER SPAIN. MADRID’S LEGENDARY ESTABLISHMENTS CERTAINLY SERVE UP AUTHENTIC TASTES, BUT SO DO ITS CONTEMPORARY CHEFS WHO ARE PROUD OF THEIR ROOTS.

BY Boris Coridian Photos Mickaël A. Bandassak

36 SHIMMERING The anchovy

always feels right at home among tapas.

THE MENU HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE 1725. IN THE KITCHENS OF THE RESTAURANTE BOTÍN ds – certified by

Guinness World Records as the oldest in the world – suckling pigs cool on the shelves before being put back in the oven to finish cooking. The little pigs will come out with crispy skin and tender meat after twenty minutes of high heat. Each day, sixty piglets are roasted, carrying on the inn’s tradition that began in the early 18th century by Frenchman Jean Botin. In this fabled establishment, where the legends of Madrid have permeated the very walls, time seems to have stopped. Period painted ceramics, stairs worn to an ancient shine by the feet of countless visitors. Miraculously, this institution, boasting sumptuous woodwork, has never seen a fire, despite the ovens that burn day and night. The current owners, the González family, have overseen the place for three generations; Luis Javier Sánchez Álvarez has been working here since he was 14 and is now the assistant manager. “At Botín, we honour the authentic dishes and serve the authentic flavours of Madrid: eggs, potatoes, roast lamb, croquetas, asparagus or artichokes in season,” he explains. “We use exclusively Spanish ingredients and traditional recipes. You won’t find foie gras here, there are no bizarre textures or little mint leaves to pretty up a dish. I have nothing against Spanish avant-garde haute gastronomie, what they call tecnoemocional, but I want to know what I’m eating and I want to be able to identify the ingredients on my plate.” Though tourists swarm to

COMFORTING Nothing is more

madrileño than cocido, an assemblage of meats and vegetables.

“Le cocido madrileño is a dish that brings us together.” this restaurant, located not far from the Plaza Mayor, locals take over from around 10 p.m. A few metres away from Botín, one of the restaurants of the Taberna de La Daniela dd group also respects traditional cuisine. Here, you can sample the dish that truly embodies the Spanish capital, cocido madrileño. The one at La Daniela is famous. And copious! This stew consists of a variety of boiled meats (beef, chicken, pork, sausage) served with chickpeas, turnips, carrots, potatoes and cabbage. Each family has its own version of this recipe, a dish that helps the locals withstand the chilly winters in a city at more than 660 metres’ altitude. This unique recipe is eaten in three phases: you start with the broth, then the cabbage, then the meats and vegetables, without forgetting some streaky bacon on ample slices of toasted country bread. The history of cocido madrileño parallels that of the peoples that have called Madrid home over the centuries. Each community has left its mark on the dish, adding new ingredients, new tastes. “It’s a recipe that represents us quite well. It’s made for the rich and for the poor. It brings us together,” says our server as she places the meat-filled dish before us, as heavy as an entire ham.

To really get a taste of the city, visitors should also be •••

SATISFYING The lack of seaports doesn’t keep the bocadillo de calamares from being omnipresent in Madrid.

APPETISING The tortilla

– a local iconic dish – is heavenly at Casa Dani df .

39 MOUTH-WATERING The true

taste of tomato makes a comeback in the capital.

The sweet side of fried: the churro, an irresistible ode to Madrid. sure to test the fried-food establishments. You need only sniff the air to grasp how much Madrid’s inhabitants adore cooking in boiling oil. For something savoury, try the bocadillo de calamares – a half-baguette stuffed with fried calamari that is a curious speciality for a city 300 kilometres from the nearest fishing port.

But not that surprising when you learn that Madrid is home to the second-largest seafood market in the world, after Tokyo’s Tsukiji Market. Being geographically set in the very middle of the country means it reels in fishy finery from both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean (you can buy the planet’s most beautiful shrimp here). In town, the bocadillo de calamares can be found everywhere, from a bar counter to the lively terrace of the celebrated El Brillante dg, and can be consumed in a few bites, washed down with a refreshing caña. There is a sweet side to fried, too: the churro, an irresistible ode to Madrid. And the epicentre of the churro universe is the Chocolatería San Ginés. The churrero (churro chef) roughly measures – by plateful – the quantity of flour needed, to which he adds boiling water and a little salt. In a batch of oil heated to 190° C (375° F, gas mark 5), he pours a fluted spiral of batter, which he skilfully turns until a golden, ridged rope is form, as crispy as can be. Heaven on the tongue,

DAZZLING The gamba roja is a favourite delicacy at Spanish eateries.

especially when the hot stick is dunked into the chocolate-filled cup served with it. Each day, more than 5,000 churros (or porras, a puffy version made by adding baking soda) are sold at the establishment, open 24 hours a day.

But think not that the capital’s citizens never taste contemporary cuisine. The fusion trend, with its Asian and South-American influences, is all the rage at the moment. At the other end of the scale, a new category of establishments is taking shape, those that are dusting off the local classics without diminishing their soul. Le Celso y Manolo is one such place. This modest eatery serves the perfect menu for sampling local specialties.

The Entrecotte de Tomate Norteño is unforgettably juicy, the anchovy fillets (from the Codesa cannery in Cantabria) are meaty and melt-in-your-mouth and the bocadillo de calamares is seasoned with aioli and dash of lime. “We wanted a menu worthy of the city, but one composed of very simple and ecologically responsible dishes,” explains the young chef in his tiny kitchen.

“We serve the best tomato, the best tuna, but interpreted with a relaxed perspective. Though our dishes are traditional, they’re unlike anything else you’ll find anywhere.” Many restauranteurs are now on this path of ensuring that authentic flavours are keeping up with the times. Madrid is whetting the culinary cutting edge – and appetites along with it. n

> You’ll find all the locations on our map in the back of the magazine.

40

THE KINGS OF MADRID THESE REIGNING RESTAURANTEURS HAVE DECREED THAT THE TRADITIONAL GASTRONOMIC WEALTH OF THEIR LAND SHALL BE MADE KNOWN. AND THEIR INVENTIVE CUISINE IS BORN OF AN INCOMPARABLE TERROIR.

By Boris Coridian Photos Mickaël A. Bandassak

FLOREN DOMEZÁIN: FARMER CHEF

FARMER-CHEF FLOREN DOMEZÁIN HAS FASHION FLAIR, ROGUISH HUMOUR AND MARVELLOUS INGREDIENTS. HIS RESTAURANT dh BRINGS VEGETABLES AND MUCH MORE TO LUSCIOUS LIFE.

NATURAL All the vegetables come from Floren’s 40-hectare farm. Except the lettuces growing in the window!

Are you a restauranteur or a grower?

I was born a farmer and became a restauranteur. My in-depth understanding of produce helps me tremendously. I know asparagus better than anyone. The instant I see them, I know how to prepare them.

You have to have grown millions of them to reach that point.

tomatoes. Today, all the chefs want to buy from me. But it’s too late! What I harvest is for my restaurant now!

[Laughs.] Customers often tell me, “I haven’t tasted a tomato like this for as long as I can remember!”

It seems you’ve always refused to bow to conventional tastes.

Why are you known as “the King of Vegetables”? Because I want

Back in the 1980s, the public, along with the great chefs, spurned what I was harvesting. They preferred firm, graded

to serve extraordinary produce.

Like the guisantes lágrima [teardropshaped peas – Ed.], which are the most

expensive vegetables in the world.

Once they touch your tongue, you weep for joy. But you also cry when you have to pay for them! They’re called “green caviar”. My recipe for them is this: I dip the pods for twenty seconds in boiling water, I prepare an extraction, then I sauté the peas with this liquid.

Like the rest of the vegetables on my menu, the peas come from my garden in Navarre.

CULINARY Culture ALFONSO CASTELLANO: STEWARD OF THE TASTE TEMPLE

AFTER HAVING COOKED IN THE HIGHEST CULINARY ECHELONS, HE CAME BACK DOWN TO EARTH. HIS NEW RESTAURANT, MATERIA dj,IS DETERMINED TO PRESERVE FLAVOURS THAT ARE THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION. How did your new establishment, dubbed a “flavour conservatory”, come to be?

My parents owned a restaurant in the Mercado de San Pascual.

That’s where I was first introduced to cooking, before my more intensive training with the major gourmet kitchen brigades. I then worked intensively on a very ambitious project, which couldn’t come to fruition because of the economic crisis. I’d fallen out of touch with cuisine and with ingredients. I travelled around Spain to find my parents’ old suppliers, because I could still remember the flavours from my childhood days spent in the market.

We were losing that heritage.

Thus the Materia restaurant was born – born of the desire to create a place to preserve flavours that were becoming extinct.

Does a chef’s job also involve educating consumers? My philosophy

is to bring my customers back to basics. When I was a kid, everyone knew what fruits and vegetables to buy at what times of the year. No one asked for a cauliflower in summer,

TWOSOME Alfonso Castellano and Natividad Perez : a couple on a taste mission.

or tomatoes in February. To satisfy consumer demand, we had tried to break free of seasonality. But, as a consequence, we’ve lost the real taste of things.

How can we rely on our memories without getting stuck in the past?

My wife and I are mining our memories with the objective of creating a contemporary emotion.

For example, in my restaurant, I serve an egg recipe that’s reminiscent of an Andalusian dish. Over there, farm workers spread sliced bread with pork belly mixed with fat and pimentón. Today, I use that mixture to preserve the egg – it’s my personal interpretation of that sensation.

REAL DEAL Bonito with vegetables: quintessential Iberian flavours.

41

42

HEADY SUBJECT One customer

has eaten 56 heads since the restaurant opened in spring 2015.

WINNER The Madrid Fusión food

festival named Javi Estévez the 2016 Discovery of the Year.

JAVI ESTÉVEZ: HEAD TO TOE

AFTER CATCHING THE PUBLIC’S EYE ON TOP CHEF, HE OPENED LA TASQUERIA dk, DETERMINED TO REKINDLE THE FORMER MADRILENIAN FONDNESS FOR OFFAL. AND HE’S SUCCEEDING! Offal is certainly part of Madrid’s culinary heritage, but opening a restaurant dedicated exclusively to these things was risky!

inexpensive. And that’s accentuated by the fact that the new immigrants, mainly those from Latin America, are big offal consumers.

Tripe is what I like most to work with.

A restaurant devoted to offal has the advantage of being memorable, while the fusion establishments are all the rage. Traditional ingredients provide a very broad palette, perfect for inventing new things!

Can offal be ‘modernised’?

How did Madrid manage to conserve this offal culture?

TROMPE-L’ŒIL This pig’s trotter carpaccio with artichoke and langoustine would make anyone like offal!

It’s wonderful to be influenced by other culinary practices, but we should never forget our own know-how. In Spain, we’ve always loved offal, whether it’s from sheep, pigs, etc. Cervantes makes reference to it in Don Quixote. Of course, consumption has decreased, since our mothers have less time to cook.

But the economic crisis has brought offal back into fashion, because it’s

Cooks have found that they can make wonderful dishes from these parts.

Here in Madrid, we’ve always served offal in restaurants, but more traditionally prepared. At La Tasqueria, the suckling pig’s head is an iconic dish. No-one had cooked this part of the animal this way – first it’s slowcooked in a steam oven, then deep-fried in oil. It’s rather surprising, but delicious!

Your first organ-meat memory?

Fried veal liver. My mother also made me pan-fried bull’s testicles.

I didn’t like them at first, but then learned to appreciate them and create my own gustatory culture.

As a Madrilenian, I think that’s something essential to learn.

43 RAMÓN FREIXA: DOUBLE-STARRED CHEF

THE CATALAN CHEF, EXERCISING HIS ART AT THE HOTEL ÚNICO dl , IS ONE OF THE SPANISH CAPITAL’S HAUTE GASTRONOMIE AMBASSADORS. What is your definition of Spanish cuisine? Madrid is right in the middle

of the country. Here’s where you’ll find the best products from all over Spain.

Everything grows on our land, and that forces chefs to be very creative. Though I’ve been working in Madrid for eight years, I’m still steeped in Catalan traditions. Basically, there are only two kinds of cooking: good and bad.

Which ingredient best defines you?

of bliss. Nowadays, customers want something more than simply eating a good dish. They demand a true experience. And that’s what I offer with my red mullet dish, which combines a variety of influences and ingredients: razor-shell clams, corn couscous, but also macaroni au gratin with saffron jelly.

As a Michelin-starred chef, in what ways do you enjoy using coffee?

I used to offer my guests a sequence devoted entirely to the tomato.

We’re blessed with the most delicious tomatoes here in Spain. The concept was to travel around the world through recipes featuring this extraordinary ingredient. That’s the principle of “glocal”: think global, but cook local.

I’m a caffeinated chef! I like coffee’s taste, its texture, its bitterness, its acidity. Personally, I’m a cortado fan. I attended the first Atelier Nespresso in Madrid. I prepared a dish – cod confit in coffee oil, morels and spring vegetables.

That’s the kind of challenge that pushes me to be innovative.

What is the objective of your gourmet restaurant? Attaining a state

> You’ll find all the locations on our map in the back of the magazine.

IBERIAN Ramón Freixa,

a Catalan chef capturing the quintessence of Madrid!

GOURMET Mandoline-sliced

asparagus, head jelly and langoustine meat.

BALANCE Spanish

ingredients and worldwide influences.

AMBASSADRESS

María Juncal is the incarnation of the new flamenca dance generation.

PERFORMING Art

The Beating Heart of

FLAMENCO AMOR DE DIOS IS MADRID’S OLDEST FLAMENCO SCHOOL. STUDENTS FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD COME HERE TO STUDY THE SUBTLETIES OF THIS FLAMBOYANT FORM OF EXPRESSION.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Mickaël A. Bandassak

THE WALLS ARE PEELING, THE MIRRORS ARE CHIPPED, THE PARQUET FLOORING IS WORN AWAY BY THE DANCERS’ CLACKING HEELS. But this world-famous academy, lo-

cated on the first floor of the Antón Martín covered market, the gateway to the lively, working-class Lavapiés district, thrums with a kind of brazen energy. This is where the greatest flamenco artists have been trained since the art’s renaissance in the 1950s; and it is here that the budding stars of tomorrow are forged, to carry the torch of the sacred fire to the international stage. “Amor de Dios f0 was founded in 1953, making it the oldest flamenco institution still in operation,” says its director, Joaquín San Juan, as he takes us on a tour of the premises. He opens a classroom door: María Juncal, considered one of today’s best bailaoras (female dancers), is teaching young people from Madrid, Andalusia, Hungary, Mexico, even China to twirl. “We have an average of 400 students coming here daily to study singing, guitar, castanets or dance,” whispers Joaquín. “A third are Spaniards, but the others travel here from the rest of the world. We don’t provide classical training the way they do at the conservatory. Everyone is free to teach or interpret the coursework based on their own style. Flamenco is too rooted in freedom to be pigeonholed.” What, then, is the raw material of this original, ardent, savage, uncompromising expressive medium, one that overwhelms the soul in a matter of seconds, combines joy and melancholy, power and grace? Why does this Andalusian-born art, birthed around the 16th or 17th century, thrill the heartstrings, pulling them taut between passion and grief, like its origins pulled between the Mediterranean and gypsy cultures? “Flamenco isn’t an element of Spanish culture – it’s more a part of its counterculture,” argues Joaquín. “And it’s more than just a stage art: it’s also a cry of rebellion against

the elites, resistance to all forms of oppression. As I said before, what drives flamenco is, above all, a hunger and a thirst for freedom.”

SCHOOL OF LIFE

Joaquín, a contented sixty-something with a humorous glint in his eye, continues our tour through the corridors of Amor de Dios. The walls are bedecked with photos and posters of glory days past and present, while a strand of guitar notes vibrates across the air. The staccato rapping of a cane issues from another door: septuagenarian Merche Esmeralda is setting the pace of her class. This maestra de flamenco – authoritarian, pitiless in her feedback and respected by everyone – teaches her students to more precisely express the palette of their emotions, by shifting their movements toward a more flamboyant authenticity. Magical moments. “To be truly expressive, a body must bear the scars of life,” says Joaquín. “A ballet dancer could complete the movements perfectly, but she would be too smooth to translate the coarseness and the roughness of flamenco.

The same goes for the voices – they shouldn’t be too gentle or too clean. Mannerisms don’t really belong in flamenco.”

In its 65-year existence, Amor de Dios has firmly established its reputation by teaching a state of mind rather than techniques. For, though flamenco is simultaneously a dance, a song and a tradition, perhaps it is best seen as a way of life, a mindset that applies in all circumstances. It is an attitude that combines a sense of celebration, spontaneity, sincerity, cliff’s-edge sensitivity, a taste for heady highs and agonised lows, veneration for honour, religiosity, hospitality, contempt for contingencies and material values, generosity, even prodigality and, lastly, courage. “The courage to •••

45

46

INCANTATION Singing, dancing, guitar, clapping – the ingredients of flamenco.

lead one’s life wholly, intensely, without any protection whatsoever,” continues Joaquín. “But, at the same time, artists must demonstrate great discipline, both in learning and in practice. It takes a lot of work to get to that pure form that will make their aim true.”

UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE

Joaquín San Juan had no reason to be passionate about flamenco. He was born in Asturias, in northern Spain, and grew up in Madrid’s working-class neighbourhood of Vallecas, where his parents settled in the 1950s. “I spent 20 years of my life despising flamenco. In fact, like 90% of Spaniards, I didn’t really know what it was all about.” In the late 1970s, when the arrival of rock and punk heralded the Movida, the rebellious young man, who had, up to that point, been rubbing elbows with antifranquista, communist and libertarian militants, met a flamenco guitarist, then a singer, then another. Intrigued by who and how they were, he dived headfirst into this counterculture: he explored it, assessed it, appreciated it, then became captivated by it, feeling it made him “a better person”, as he himself says. To the point that he ended up approaching groups of flamenco aficionados (“passionates”) and devoting all his free time to them. “In a few months, my life was turned upside-down,” he says succinctly. In 1992, the founder of Amor de Dios, Juan María Martinez de Bourio, fell seriously ill. At the same time, the school’s building on Amor de Dios street (hence the name) had to be sold. “I said to myself that I couldn’t stand by and let the academy die – that was unthinkable,” recounts Joaquín. He located new premises, invested his meagre savings and took out a loan to keep the classes going. He gradually took over from the former director and worked day and night to keep the place running – and still does.

“Today, at 68, I manage the place, recruit the teachers, give the interviews, and sweep up at night. I work every day – we only close two days a year.” His son, Javier, is his righthand man in this picaresque enterprise. And it is paying off: the searing energy of Amor de Dios warms the entire planet. The academy resembles a small village where the languages of the five continents are spoken. “It’s the centre of the world,” jokes Javier.

Flamenco could have faded away to become insipid folk-

“Flamenco is part of the Spanish counterculture.” lore over the course of the 20th century. Instead, it has rebounded with a vigour bordering on vengeance, inciting aficionados to say that the art has never been so creative and popular. New generations are pursuing it; new voices are being heard. When flamenco puro got back to its roots in the 1970s, it saved itself from obstinacy and domestication, establishing the solid footing it needed, which now allows it to experiment and fuse with jazz, blues, rock, reggae, electronic music, rap, and more. “Flamenco is taking on a universal dimension,” Joaquín concludes. “It is one of the cultures of the Iberian Peninsula that has the best chance of becoming truly global. There is now a demanding public in Europe, but also in the Americas, Japan, China, everywhere.” Listening to Joaquín express his convictions with such enthusiasm and passion, we sense that, if flamenco manages to overcome geographic distance, it is surely because it speaks a universal language - that of the soul. n

THE ORIGINS OF FLAMENCO Though born in Andalusia, flamenco’s geneses can be found in the bubbling cultural cauldron that has simmered in this region of southern Spain over the last millennium. In the mid15th century, at the end of the period of Muslim domination (711-1492), the first gitanos [gypsies] settled in the Iberian Peninsula after a long odyssey that began in India. With them,

they brought their songs and visceral commitment to freedom.

Little by little, their culture interbred with the poetry and dances of Muslim Andalusia, with Jewish music and with Catholic liturgy.

And though the flamenco and gypsy cultures are not one and the same, it was still these people that gave flamenco its style.

Long considered subversive, having been labelled a form of rebellion of the most destitute, flamenco gained official recognition in the early 19th century. The ruling classes chose to channel the power of this popular ritual by putting it on display on the café-cantante circuit.

But this was also how the art came to be known outside its native land.

COSMOPOLITAN Students from around the world attend the dance classes.

AFICIONADO Joaquín MONUMENT Merche

San Juan, Director Esmeralda, a living of Amor de Dios. flamenco legend.

BAILAORA María

Juncal’s classes are the gold standard in Spain.

Madrid’s MELTING POT POPULAR PALETTE

ONCE A HUMBLE, NEGLECTED NEIGHBOURHOOD, TODAY’S LAVAPIÉS IS ONE OF THE SPANISH CAPITAL’S TRENDIEST DISTRICTS. MULTICULTURAL, HOSPITABLE, DOWN-TO-EARTH – A CRYSTALLISATION OF THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE CITY AND THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. HERE’S A GUIDED TOUR.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Stéphane Remael

DAWN IS JUST BREAKING AS THE CITY SWEEPERS FINISH CLEANING THE SIDEWALKS AND THE FIRST MERCHANTS TRICKLE INTO THE ANTÓN MARTIN MARKET fq.

José, 30, raises the rolling blind sheltering his fruit and vegetable shop and prepares his stall. “Ten years ago, Lavapiés had a bad reputation,” says this market monarch. “The buildings were dilapidated, drugs and prostitution were thriving and the streets were unsafe. Today, it’s the trendiest corner of the capital!” With its patchwork of cobbled lanes, colourful facades, balconies, graffiti, timeworn shops, popular cafés, late-night bars, hipster barbershops, Mexican restaurants and African hairdressers, Lavapiés has all the ingredients of a neighbourhood climbing the status ladder. The resulting impression is a combination of quaint and chic, positive energy fed by the hundred nationalities that share these streets until the early hours.

Lavapiés is shared by all communities.

HUMAN Touch

CULTURAL STEW

“It’s crazy how the neighbourhood is changing so fast,” thunders Julián Cañas as he prepares the day’s barquillos, light and crisp wafers. We are in his kitchen on Calle del Amparo, which is his morning workout space as he carries on the family tradition begun by his great-grandfather, Felix. “In the 1970s, Lavapiés was home to a lot of elderly people, workers and small-scale craftsmen. On our courtyard, there was a carpenter, a cabinetmaker, a locksmith. We all stuck together. Today, most of the workshops have been replaced by apartments.”

The transition began in the 1980s with the arrival of the first foreigners, explains Graciela, 83, who is sunning on a bench on the Plaza Nelson Mandela fs. This former seamstress has always lived in Lavapiés and remembers the day when she went to fetch water from the fountain at the foot of her building, and the smell of dried tobacco back when the cigarette factory was still in operation. “The population grew denser after World War II, with the rural exodus,” the octogenarian tells us. Then, in the late 1970s, new neighbourhoods sprang up in the suburbs and many inhabitants departed, leaving their seedy buildings and dilapidated shops behind. At about the same time, the Chinese began to arrive, then the Arabs, the Indians, the Africans, the Mexicans and the South Americans. They worked hard to refurbish the infrastructures. Madrid has always been a hospitable city, and this quality takes concentrated form in Lavapiés.

“It’s not a ghetto,” comments Elena Vallejo, who runs the family hair salon that opened in 1908 on Calle Santa Isabel. “It’s more of a collection, a melting pot of cultures that makes the place unique and appealing.” On the flip side, however, is the neighbourhood’s gentrification. City hall cleaned up the district, the facades got a facelift and the property agents soon followed. Apartment prices soared and solidarity wilted, though political and community activity is holding up as best they can.

As the morning creeps toward midday, on the Calle de Valencia, the zinc counter at Boqueron fd is populated by families and foreign workers, youngsters with angelic smiles and seniors with wizened faces. It is not yet time to eat, but people sip a glass of white wine or vermouth to whet the appetite •••

WAFER WARE The Cañas

have been vendors for generations.

GET TOGETHER Calle Lavapiés is the perfect meet-up spot.

49

50 while nibbling a few olives and fried squid. And talk. And do they talk. For, in the bars of Madrid, there’s nothing people love doing more than verbally hashing out the world’s wonders and woes. Two streets away, the El Rincón Guay ff patio is crowded. The owner, Mauricio Marin, shares his café’s history: “When we opened in 2007, we were the first gay bar in the neighbourhood. It wasn’t easy to get accepted, but we finally got there. And we survived the economic crisis! Now our clientele is more diverse.”

BIG SCREEN The Cine Doré is a neighbourhood icon.

HIPSTERS, GAYS AND GYPSIES

A little further up on Calle de Embajadores is the café El Mar, which opened in a former beauty salon of which it preserved the azulejos-decorated facade. A couple of young women sit at a turquoise table for lunch, accompanied by their dog, Grace Jones. “By 2010, more and more gays had moved into the neighbourhood,” explains Mina. “They’re the ones who started making things fashionable. After them, a whole swarm of young people started going out in Lavapiés.”

The afternoon slips by peacefully, laundry dries beneath the windows, a group of teenagers play basketball by a heavily graffitied wall. Javier repairs a derailleur in his bike shop, Fixie & Roll fg, on Calle Torrecilla del Leal. “Lavapiés has always had a lot of cyclists,” reflects this kindly gentleman in his thirties.

“And not just because we have a hipster population. The main reason is that we don’t have a lot of public transportation here.” It is now 5:30 p.m., time to go see an old movie at the Cine Doré fh, a cinema structure that is home to the Filmoteca Española. José, the projectionist, unspools his 35mm reels for the pleasure of the moviegoers who fill the screening rooms of this 1912 theatre. At the other end of the neighbourhood, near the La Latina subway station, the Art Deco building of the Café Pavón fj welcomes a cross-section of the international population that lives here. The servers of all genders are festooned with tattoos. We sip a drink on the terrace, chomping on pica-picas and other tasty tapas. Young men rev their yowling

“Sometimes I join a friend for a drink and end up staying out all night.”

NIGHT OWLS The Café

Pavón is an early hours haunt.

BREAK A cultural crosssection at the Mercado de San Fernando.

scooters over by the Plaza de Cascorro, frequented by impeccably dressed families and smouldering-gazed young ladies dressed as though they were heading to a prom. “They’re gitanos [gypsies],” says long-bearded, pierced-eared Esteban, who moved here last year. The gypsies, who have been settled in Spain since the 15th century, were long this neighbourhood’s principal occupants.

“And before them, there was the Jewish community,” adds Esteban, who is a fashion photographer.

FOOTBALL AND FLAMENCO

OPEN DOOR The

fun and friendly La Estrecha bar.

Change of atmosphere on Calle Argumosa at the El Económico bar fk. Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are facing off in a football match. The patrons, staring fixedly at the screen, don’t miss a millisecond of this highly charged game, except perhaps to order an occasional beer. “Lavapiés has more Atlético fans than Real Madrid followers,” says Lucía, who never misses a match. Night seems to take its sweet time to fall on this patio-peppered street, each home to lively conversations. In front of the Café Achuri fl , a poet sells his verses for a crust of bread, then dives into an alley, but not before warning us that “the night has just begun!” It’s time to go grab a bite or watch a flamenco show: cabarets have recitals every night, of greater or lesser authenticity. “Madrid is a city of high spirits and excess”, posits Elena as she leans on the white marble counter of the La Estrecha bar gp . This young woman, a native of the Canaries, teaches mathematics in a public high school. She’s a nightlife regular in this neighbourhood that she finds both affordable and friendly. “Sometimes I join a friend for a drink and end up staying out all night, because the ambiance is so conducive to that.” Tonight, she plans to end her revelries at La Candela gq , a flamenco café open until dawn, around the time the city sweepers finish cleaning the sidewalks. n > You’ll find all the locations on our map in the back of the magazine.

HAUTE COUTURE

A bull head like this one sells for 130 euros.

CULT Object

BOTANICAL

beasts

JAVIER MEDINA’S ELEGANT AND ORIGINAL ANIMAL HEADS IN BRAIDED PLANT FIBRE ARE SWIFTLY GAINING POPULARITY. THE ARTISAN REINTERPRETS THE TRADITIONAL SYMBOLS OF THIS LAND OF TAUROMACHY IN A MODERN, LIGHT-HEARTED WAY THAT IS PART SCULPTURE, PART HAUTE COUTURE.

By Guillaume Jan Photo Mickaël A. Bandassak

“I WANTED TO MAKE AN OBJECT THAT WAS WHOLLY IN KEEPING WITH MY COUNTRY – in what it represented, the way it

was designed and the materials used to make it. I wanted to reinvent a symbol of Spain.” We are with Javier Sánchez Medina, 40, in his small shop in Madrid’s Malasaña neighbourhood gs. The walls of this traditional workshop are covered with bull heads, as well as the heads of donkeys, deer, buffalo and rhinoceroses. But these are no ordinary hunter’s trophies: they are all made from plants, carefully braided in a fibre known here as pleita and elsewhere as esparto grass (Stipa tenacissima – Ed.). “It comes from the atocha, a plant that grows mainly in Andalusia, but also around Madrid.

The present Atocha train station was built on a plain where it grew in abundance.” Having arrived in the capital in 2008, it took this dynamic, forty-year-old man several years to nurture his plans to their fruition. While working in various shops to make a living, he learned to braid this soft, pliable and extremely sturdy fibre in his spare time – farmers used it to harness their donkeys and make the baskets in which they transported their harvests. The self-taught artist made a few objects and trimmed a few mirror frames with it before having a “eureka moment” in 2012: “A number of Madrid restaurants highlight the bullfighting culture by decorating their room with one or more bull heads. I wanted to craft that in my own way, with an eco-friendlier spirit.”

DEVOTED TO DETAIL

Javier Medina calls himself a craftsman, though he is just as much an artist. This son and grandson of shoemakers grew up in a province of Extremadura, on the Portuguese border. His grandfather wove outdoor curtains out of pleita, which is highly effective in keeping rooms cool in the scorching summer. He also remembers the trinkets made with this same fibre by the local shepherds – small donkeys, for example. “I’ve always liked to make objects,” Javier recalls. “Even as a child, I loved natural

materials and appreciated their beauty. But I lived in a tiny provincial village where no one could hope to make a living through art.”

In Madrid, the young man gave freer rein to his dreams, while becoming even more exacting: a person must really take one of his “ecological trophies” in hand to get the full measure the fineness of the finishing, the attention to every detail. The carapace is braided in atocha fibre, while the more precise shapes are sewn with string, which allows for great artistic refinement while also reinforcing all the parts, which have a lifetime guarantee.

“Sometimes we’ll rework the roundness of a horn, or decide to add a millimetre of thickness,” says Nico Croze, who has been working with Javier for two years. Each piece – part sculpture, part haute couture – takes the two craftsmen an average of three days’ labour.

INTERNATIONAL REPUTATION

Javier Medina chose a non-animal alternative to bullfighting trophies because he, like many women and men of his generation, cares about the environment and living things. “I’m not a hippie activist, but I’m not a fan of bullfighting, either. I wanted to prove that you could put a trophy on your wall that was both precious and unique without killing an animal.” His idea became a success overnight. Several well-reputed restaurants placed orders with him, customers liked what they saw, and word of mouth has done the rest. Five years after opening his shop on El Escorial Street, Javier is now exporting his bullheads to the United States, and the waiting list keeps getting longer.

“Not only do people love my trophies’ design and material, they love my story,” he admits. “That of a young craftsman who takes over an old workshop and applies traditional savoir-faire to create a very contemporary product. All the tools I use here?

My father passed them on to me when he closed his shoerepair shop.” n

53

ARTISTIC REVOLUTION LONG TRAMPLED BY THE MAJOR CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS, MADRID’S CONTEMPORARY ART SCENE IS NOW EXPLODING. FUELLED

BY A MULTITUDE OF ART CENTRES AND A NEW GENERATION OF ARTISTS, THE CITY IS SHAPING THE AVANT-GARDE OF EUROPEAN CREATIVITY.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Stéphane Remael

CONTEMPORARY Creation

MEMENTO MORI

A work by Lucía Vallejo displayed at La Tabacalera.

IN RESIDENCE

These seven young artists in residence at Matadero Madrid are finding ways to represent the world of today.

“WE NEED CULTURE. THE JOYS OF LIFE AREN’T LIMITED TO GOING OUT AT NIGHT AND HAVING A BEER ON THE PATIO!” Hector Hernandez, age 29, is a visual artist. Born in

Castellón, on the Mediterranean coast, he is currently in residence at Matadero Madrid, an enormous, city-subsidised contemporary arts centre. Built in 2007 in a former slaughterhouse on the city’s southern outskirts, the centre is an assemblage of numerous facilities filling the sprawling, 150,000 square metres of the premises and exploring nearly every corner of today’s art trends. “Madrid’s cultural life has long remained quite traditional, fettered by the institutions. But now the city’s making up for lost time,” says Hector, who is working on his next installation – a wooden structure in front of a video screen, a depiction of our growing difficulty in reconnecting with nature. The young man works in a brick hangar, dubbed “El Ranchito”, along with five other visual artists from Europe and Africa. “Our intention is to create greater recognition for our artists nationally and internationally,” says Jacobo Rivero, the Matadero Madrid Communications Director. “We want to catalyse current production, forge a new cultural atmosphere that’s connected with the realities of today’s life.” Madrid had a glorious artistic past, but saw its creative momentum slow to a halt under the Franco dictatorship (1939-1975). Then came the Movida explosion, a defiant movement buoyed by a desire for new, youthful energy. But the economic crises of the 1990s and 2000s reined in this dynamic, until the anti-austerity Indignados movement gave Spanish society its second wind. “People are now much more sensitive to all forms of culture,” says Jacobo. This change of mindset occurred in parallel with the appearance of many sites dedicated to today’s productions. The Dos de Mayo, home to the Community of Madrid’s contemporary art collection since 2008, just released an interactive map of exhibition venues. A list that is steadily growing longer.

RESISTANCE AND INNOVATION

The starting point of this Madrid renaissance could be La Fábrica. This hive of activity, founded in 1994 by former journalist Alberto Anaut with private financial support, is the source of many initiatives: creation and exhibition spaces, like La Casa Encendida (2002) and Matadero Madrid (2007), •••

55

56 events such as the La Noche de los Libros (Book Night), La Noche de los Teatros (Theatre Night), and the PHotoEspaña festival, established in 1998, now one of Europe’s biggest photography events. “The new-generation artists have travelled, they speak English, they’re better prepared to carve out their place in the world,” reflects Álvaro Matías, Director of La Fábrica.

“But there’s still work to be done. Madrid lacks a ‘culture culture’, and we need to encourage education in this area.” Education is one of the pillars of La Casa Encendida (along with arts, social solidarity and environment). “Our goal is to ensure that contemporary art isn’t just reserved for the elite,” says Lucía Casani, who heads this entity of the Fundación Montemadrid. “Like at Matadero Madrid, our exhibitions are free and we hold a wide variety of activities at low prices – concerts, movies, festivals.”

Nearly 800,000 visitors a year come to this centre on the edge of the Lavapiés district. Two streets away, La Tabacalera also builds bridges between contemporary culture and citizenship, through exhibitions, theatre, dance, guest speakers, even shared gardens. This self-managed space opened in 2009 inside an old tobacco factory. It also offers free admission to avantgarde creative works, all in an open-minded atmosphere that encourages dialogue and shared reflection.

Behind the Atocha train station stands a red-brick building rimmed by wild grasses: La Neomudéjar, an intriguing place

DARK DESIGNS

Francisco Santibañez, an artist-in- residence at La Neomudéjar, paints apocalyptic canvases. “I want to depict what I fear the most.”

TRANSMISSIONS FROM THE ETHERSPACE

A collective exhibition at La Casa Encendida, including artists like Nina Beier and Celia Hempton.

WHERE TO APPRECIATE CONTEMPORARY ART IN MADRID Not far from the famous Prado museum (classical art), the Medialab-Prado gd is a citizen laboratory that holds exhibitions and lectures on digital art. A bit further down, next to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía gf (the national museum of modern and contemporary art), La Casa Encendida gg displays more conceptual works to help raise public awareness about the many forms contemporary art takes.

Matadero gh, also schedules events and exhibitions

in a daring, yet accessible programme exploring all creative domains (performing arts, film, graphic design, and much more).

The Dos de Mayo gj art centre hosts the Community of Madrid’s contemporary art collection, comprised of nearly 2,000 works.

La Tabacalera gk offers a dialogue between contemporary art and countercultural expression, as does La Neomudéjar gl , which places great emphasis on experimental film and performance.

> You’ll find all the locations on our map in the back of the magazine.

57

SUBVERSIVE ART

dedicated to alternative productions. “This railway warehouse had been abandoned for three decades before we took it over in 2012,” says Francisco Brives, who, with Néstor Prieto, co-directs this vast, once-forgotten structure dedicated to “creators, madmen and reprobates”, as explained on painted sign posted at the entrance. The two men organise residency opportunities, performances and screenings throughout the year. “But La Neomudéjar is primarily a museum of underground cultures,” Francisco adds with a wide smile from beneath his blue hair. “We’re home to video art along with works from other, lessconventional disciplines, like art brut, street art, electronic art or productions linked to LGBT activism (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans – Ed.)”. What kind of audience does this draw? “Not necessarily young people,” says Néstor.

“We see plenty of fifty and sixty-year-olds. They knew Buñuel, Dalí, the Movida – they understand subversive art.” One of La Neomudéjar’s missions is to preserve the works of our time, to protect their value as cultural heritage. “We see art as a form of resistance to political power, which shows no interest in culture,” conclude these two agitators. Upstairs, artist Antonio Alvarado, a pioneer in electronic art, is readying his next installation, one of Dadaist inspiration. “Right now, you’re in one of the only places in Madrid where creative minds are welcomed without preconceived notions; a place that accepts people who try new things, experiment and sometimes make mistakes, but who are moving forward.

And that’s simply vital for the evolution of art.” n

At La Neomudéjar, Francisco Brives and Néstor Prieto give pride of place to underground cultures.

HISTORY An Extraordinary Story

Café SOCIETY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY, THE COFFEE CULTURE TOOK ROOT IN SPAIN WITH THE OPENING OF MADRID’S FIRST COFFEEHOUSE, WHICH BECAME A GATHERING PLACE FOR ARTISTS AND INTELLECTUALS.

By Guillaume Jan Illustration Icinori

THE YEAR WAS 1764. ON THE PLAZA DEL ÁNGEL, IN THE BARRIO DE LAS LETRAS IN CENTRAL MADRID, BEHIND AN ELEGANT STONE-AND-BRICK FACADE, lay a vast room gener-

ously illumined by tall windows: the Café de San Sebastián, the Spanish capital’s first coffeehouse. In April of that year, two Italian-born brothers, Juan Antonio and José María Gippini, rented out the ground floor of their inn to a group of artists and intellectuals led by poet Nicolás Fernández de Moratín. These literati hoped to create a kind of club where newspapers could be read and ideas exchanged over cups of coffee, a new, dark and invigorating beverage that was winning minds and palates in many corners of Europe. The two Italians, being prudent and prosperous hoteliers, put up a sign at the establishment entrance prohibiting political discussions on the premises. Nevertheless, though the texts of that day indicate that one could only discuss bulls, bullfighting, poetry and the stuff of love, the San Sebastián’s customers felt that the prowess of matadors and the splendour of their muses did not furnish sufficient conversational substance.

GLIMMERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT

In the second half of the 18th century, Madrid was evolving at breakneck speed. Since being proclaimed the capital of the Kingdom of Spain by King Philip II in 1561, the city’s expansion had been inexorable: the population quintupled, going from 30,000 to 150,000 inhabitants, in the space of two centuries.

The new sovereign, Charles III, who took the throne in 1759, paved the streets, constructed promenades, finished building the royal palace, installed street lighting with lanterns at each of the city’s intersections, and improved sanitation with a sewer system. In short, he was determined to make Madrid a capital worthy of the designation. But not everything in the country shone so brightly. The magnificence of the Spanish Golden Age – which began with Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the Americas in 1492 and ended in the late 17th century – was al-

ready a dim memory. The kingdom, which had lost much of its influence and many of its possessions abroad, was in a period of stagnation and obscurantism, perpetuated by a particularly conservative Church that opposed the open-mindedness of Charles III. The price of bread increased monthly, triggering riots.

At the Café de San Sebastián, inspired by the progressive ideas developed in France by the Enlightenment’s philosophers, consumers clandestinely dreamed of a society founded on reason and justice. Writers, playwrights, historians and publishers denounced the censorship of the Church and the idle lifestyle of the nobles. As in all the coffeehouses opening across Europe, these intellectuals passionately promoted the modern ideas of freedom and equality, exchanged books they had managed to hide from the keen and suspicious eye of inquisitors, enthused about the latest geographic and scientific discoveries, observed the workings of the heavens with a new eye, all while enjoying coffee imported from the Horn of Africa. But the young people who met at the San Sebastían also did not mask their concern and anger whenever the price of bread rose. In March 1766, a revolt broke out in the city against the Marquis of Squillace, the minister under Charles III: The pretext was repudiation of a decree banning broad-brimmed hats that obscured faces, but it was fundamentally motivated by the hardships of recent years. The riots spread throughout the kingdom: 40,000 mutineers took part in the uprising, which would ultimately cause prices to drop again on basic necessities. The Café de San Sebastián, seen as a centre of conspiracy, was closed down during this period of turmoil, but the Gippini brothers soon opened other establishments, both in Madrid and Spain’s other major cities, and philosophers, artists and journalists would again gather to dream of a better world.

Today, the space that was once the Café de San Sebastián is home to a tea room. Still as beautifully bathed in light as in centuries past, it receives the guests of one of Madrid’s most luxurious hotels, serving them their breakfast and their coffee. n

59

SLOGAN

Planet A is all we have.

A fitting session at Ecoalf.

SUSTAINABLE Fashion

A collection OF GOOD INTENTIONS WHILE CLOTHING MANUFACTURING HAS LONG BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH FAST FASHION, MANY OF MADRID’S DESIGNERS AND ARTISANS ARE CRAFTING COLLECTIONS THAT GIVE MOTHER NATURE HER DUE.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Stéphane Remael

IT’S A RED AND GREEN SHOP A STONE’S THROW FROM THE PLAZA DE ESPAÑA. Amidst pretty flower bou-

quets, the shop window displays colourful clothes, designer dresses, bags and jewellery. What do they have in common? They all meet the standards defining sustainable fashion. “They’re made from environmentally friendly materials, most are manufactured locally, limiting consumption of natural resources, minimising their impact on the environment and respecting the well-being of human life,” says Paloma García López. This former journalist opened her outlet in December 2014 under the name The Circular Project hp , inspired by the circular economy’s principles of transparency, ethics and sustainability. In 2016, this youthful fifty-something woman decided to broaden her project’s scope and founded the Asociación Moda Sostenible [“sustainable fashion association” – Ed.] to federate initiatives in this realm: “There’s an increasing number of individual projects, but most are relatively unknown.

My goal is to give them greater exposure.” Apart from her shop, Paloma García López seizes every opportunity to stress that there are alternatives to the cheap garments of fast fashion from Bangladesh or Cambodia, for example, quickly sold and quickly tossed out. She holds fashion shows in the streets of Madrid, teaches classes and gives presentations. Last April, she went to the European Parliament in Brussels to defend a bill on protecting textileindustry workers. •••

MORA EFRON, RECYCLED JEWELLERY Argentina native Mora Efron settled in Spain in 2001. This trained jeweller then hung out her shingle in 2012, having decided to work only with recycled materials.

“Jewellery is an opaque, polluting industry and it was hard for me to justify being part of that world. But now, I buy from local suppliers, I try to use only recycled metals and everything I make is hand-crafted.

Even my tools were made by me. I sell mainly at fairs, but a few shops in Madrid sell my pieces, and I also sell some of my pieces online. I’m not rich, but I earn enough to get by.”

61

62

“We feel a great desire to change things in Spain.”

DIFFERENT BY DESIGN

SENSE NU: 100 % LOCAL The voluble Oriol García listens to classical music as he works in the studio in his apartment near La Puerta del Sol. This former arts student is always on the lookout for new ideas to make his clothes more affordable and sustainable. “I introduced my first clothing label through the regular channels, without giving it too much thought.

The manufacturing was in India, with poor working

DLANA*: GREEN WOOL In 2014, Esther Chamorro Fernández and Javier Benito Pascual opened dLana* hf in San Lorenzo, north of Madrid.

Their shop sells balls of wool, throws and sweaters. “We eat organic and we’re concerned about the state of the planet, so naturally wanted to start a project that was consistent with our convictions. We were looking for a local raw material that had positive impact of some kind and we found this artisanal wool from Andalusia. The breeders use the old-fashioned techniques, shearing the sheep with scissors, and the wool is washed without chemicals. We only have one brick-and-mortar store, but with some help from the Internet, we sell our sweaters in Japan.”

conditions. In 2012, I did some research to understand how to produce sustainably.

I wanted my designs to be 100% local and eco-friendly.

Now, with Sense Nu hd , I work with two small workshops in Madrid.

My production is smaller, but I listen to my customers, and I’ll even patch pants I’ve sold them when they start to wear out.

That keeps them coming back.”

In the mid-1980s, Spain entered the European Union and worked doubly hard to kick-start its economy. Several ready-to-wear brands grew to become giants in the textile industry. The world was soon crawling with newly opened stores selling budget clothing, with new collections replacing the last in a ceaseless, dizzying whirl. The pace of fashion was accelerating. “These companies quickly bloated the market, making fashion one of the planet’s most highly polluting sectors,” says Paloma. “But they can’t keep producing in such a destructive way. Especially since we’re sensing a sort of consumer weariness. Spaniards might just be ready for slow fashion.” In 2012, Javier Goyeneche founded the Ecoalf label hq, which sells clothing, footwear and bags made from 100%-recycled materials (plastic bottles, tires, industrial refuse, etc.), designed with style and elegance: “Environmentalism is taking on greater importance in our lives,” explains the young entrepreneur. “The new generations are embracing products that reflect greater respect for people and the planet.”

On this spring morning, Gema Gómez is trailed by a throng of journalists at the Museo del Traje hs, the clothing museum. The lively fiftyish woman chose this venue for the sixth annual Slow Fashion Next festival, showcasing the lat-

OFICIO STUDIO, ARTISANAL LEATHER When they met in 2009, David Iglesias had just declared bankruptcy for his leather bags factory – which was based on the fast-fashion model (large quantities, cut-rate materials, new collections every six months) – and Melina Carranza wanted to learn how to work with this raw material. In 2012, they founded Oficio Studio in their apartment

est innovations in sustainable fashion. “People need to know that there’s an alternative to fast fashion,” she asserts. But that is not a simple task. “We’re running into a sort of glass ceiling.

Fast-fashion companies have trained customers to think that a t-shirt shouldn’t cost more than five euros. But that’s a warped view of reality. If the t-shirt is sold so cheaply, that means someone at a factory in India or Bangladesh is paying the price for that cheapness. At the Slow Fashion Next festival, guest designers exhibit items made from reused, recycled or upcycled materials.

And the good news is that we are seeing ever-increasing quantities.” The former stylist experienced her ecological wakeup call in the 2000s while working for a ready-to-wear company. “I’ve seen the terrible working conditions at the factories, the child labour, the pollution of the rivers and the hypocrisy of the big

in downtown Madrid.

“We decided to stick with local, hand-crafted products of very good quality, but sold at affordable prices. It’s not 100% eco-friendly, because leather involves killing an animal, even though the cows are killed for their meat, and we then buy their hides from the slaughterhouses.

But we don’t use chemicals

or chrome, the leather is naturally processed.

We hadn’t heard about the concept of slow fashion before we started out.

We experimented with different methodologies and this one proved to be the one that worked best. What we want more than anything is to be consistent – in our products and with our values.”

brands that feign ignorance and look the other way.

I decided that I didn’t want to be part of the problem, but part of the solution.” She resigned from her job and got in touch with Greenpeace. In 2011, this pioneer of sustainable fashion in Spain introduced the first Slow Fashion Next, and the event has grown steadily over the past six years. She leaves us on an optimistic note: “Here in Spain, we feel a great desire to change things, even if consumers haven’t yet adopted an eco-friendly culture the way they have in Northern Europe. We’re motivated.

And, most importantly, the movement is becoming firmly established on solid foundations. More and more people are eating organic, care about the fate of the planet and are aware of how their purchases impact the world.” n > You’ll find all the locations on our map in the back of the magazine.

64

NATIONAL Treasure

THE GIANTS’ SECOND WIND ANCHORED FOR EONS IN THE ARID LANDSCAPES OF LA MANCHA, SOUTH OF MADRID, RENDERED LITERARY ICONS

BY MIGUEL DE CERVANTES, THESE WINDMILLS WERE GRADUALLY ABANDONED. A PICARESQUE CARPENTER IS GIVING THEM NEW LIFE.

By Guillaume Jan Photos Stéphane Remael

65

66 DON QUIXOTE Heir to Cervantes’ hero, Juan Sánchez resuscitates the mills of La Mancha.

THEY RISE UP FROM THE VAST, YELLOW PLAIN, MUSHROOMING SUDDENLY IN FIELDS OF WHEAT, STONE AND THISTLE, gripping the spine of a rocky spur. One is immediately

struck by their stocky silhouette, capped by an elegant, pointed roof, framed by the spiral of their majestic sails. The road, hitherto unbending, begins to weave grandly back and forth as we climb the Calderico ridge, a natural belvedere that towers 150 metres above the open countryside: this is how one approaches the twelve windmills of the village of Consuegra, a 90-minute drive south of Madrid. Their whitewashed, rounded walls and grid-like sails are of the same spartan spirit as this lean, sun-scorched landscape, at once fierce and fascinating.

Of course, the famous scene from Don Quixote, the 1605 masterpiece by Miguel de Cervantes, comes to mind: believing he must prepare a lawful war against immense “giants”, the old hidalgo sets out to attack the windmills of Consuerga and ends up rolling in the dust. At the sight of the two men working at the foot of these eminent vestiges, one feels suddenly transported

into the novel’s very pages: one of the men is tall and lean, with a honed, angular beard; the other is shorter, stockier, with straight hair and three days’ growth across his jaw. But this dual apparition, reminiscent of the Knight of the Sorry Face and his valet, Sancho Panza, is very real: it is Juan Sánchez with his sole employee, Eugenio Cornelio. For the past seventeen years, Juan has been restoring the mills of La Mancha. “Our company, La Bóveda Fecit, is the only one in the region to be entirely devoted to their restoration,” he explains. “Sometimes we just change the sails and other times we have to work on the entire mill mechanism.”

AN IRRESISTIBLE PASSION

It is 5 p.m. – a light, south-easterly wind is rising, cooling the searing stones. Juan and Eugenio orient the sails in the direction of the breeze. To perform this spectacular manoeuvre, they manually move the lateral beam that serves to rotate the mill mechanism. It is an arduous task, as the two men respect traditional

67 SANCHO PANZA Juan Sánchez’s

assistant, Eugenio Cornelio, a Romanian carpenter who emigrated to Spain.

Tourism is reviving this region hurt by the economic crises. methods here, which remain the most effective in light of the rocky terrain. Once the sails are positioned, Juan and Eugenio prepare to cover them with thick canvas, reminiscent of boat sails. Without an instant’s hesitation, Juan clambers up the rungs of the chequered frame, like a sailor on his shrouds, wearing the heavy fabric over his shoulders, like a superhero’s cape.

“I was a hyperactive teenager,” he recounts. “School was boring to me; I preferred working with my hands. I made small wooden objects, like rabbit cages, which I sold. After high school, I took advantage of a European Union programme to learn carpentry, which led me to join in the restoration of a mill in my village, Campo de Criptana. I was immediately taken with the trade.

I was receiving a monthly allowance, which I saved up to get my driver’s licence. When my friends were buying their first cars, I chose to spend my savings on a work truck. In 2000, when I was 20, I answered a call for tenders from the city of Consuegra to restore one of the twelve windmills on this promontory. And I’ve restored about thirty others in the region since.”

By dint of spending so much time with and in them, studying every detail of their inner and outer workings, the young man was inspired to bring these mills back to life – the last one had stopped turning in 1970. Thus it was that, alongside his work as a carpenter, Juan Sánchez became a miller. First at Campo de Criptana, in the neighbouring province, then here in Consuegra and other surrounding villages, where he exercises his trade a few days a year. Both the tourists and the towns love it. It provides an added attraction to this little-known, hardscrabble region, but a land that can grow on any visitor who spends a bit of time here. The landscapes are captivating, the population warm and hospitable, the food traditions rich and varied, and the wines potent. With help from tourism, La Mancha is making a comeback after the slump caused by the 1993 and 2008 economic crises.

REKINDLED TOURISM

The sun lingers above the horizon, a flight of swallows cleaves the azure sky, and the canvas on the sails puffs •••

68 LIKE OLDEN TIMES

The flour from the mill is sold to a local bakery.

LEGENDS Don Quixote and Sancho, La Mancha’s emblematic figures.

In its heyday, La Mancha was home to some 500 windmills. and swells in the wind, as though they were impatient to start moving. When Eugenio unfastens the chain holding them in place, they creak, squeak, rock and begin to groaningly rotate.

A man joins us to admire this spectacle, a man who has something to do with the resurrection of these mills himself - Jesús Anaya Garcia. This Consuegra native has been working for several years, through his tourist development agency, Produciendo, to restore a more public glory to these machines of yesteryear. “When I was a kid, people didn’t maintain the ruins of the castle or the mills,” recalls the entrepreneur. “We would go there to play, but had no idea of their value. It wasn’t until I went to college in Madrid that I came to understand that they were a vital facet of our region’s identity.” In 2013, Jesús convinced the city to invest in restoring one of the mills to make it fully operational. He contacted La Bóveda Fecit, Juan Sánchez’s restoration company. “The work took a long time, but the results were well beyond our expectations,” says Jesús. “The resurrected mills draw curious visitors from around the world; the fact that

Consuegra is just 15 minutes from the main southern motorway connecting Madrid to Seville and Granada makes such a detour easier for tourists. Last year, we had over 300,000 visitors, which generated 500,000 euros of revenue for the city.” And it is Juan, the indefatigable carpenter-miller, who operates this mill every week. The flour produced is bought by a baker in the village and the entire mill experience is on the way to becoming an essential stop on the area’s tourist itineraries. “At first, we thought people would be drawn by the 12th-century fortress, but what they like most is the windmills,” remarks Jesús, who has opened a restaurant in the rotunda of the neighbouring mill and also plans to brew a craft beer with the grains ground on site.

A PICARESQUE HERO

What makes these windmills of La Mancha so popular? Is it their architectural beauty, blending so exquisitely into this infinite horizon? Is it the celebrated scene of Cervantes’ novel, one

69

MADRID

CONSUEGRA

CAMPO DE CRIPTANA

REMINISCENCE The aged

mills, perched atop the hill, watch over the landscape.

of the pearls of world literature? Or could it be the perfection of these venerable machines, the magic of this energy extracted from the wind? “The turning sails are as hypnotising as sailboats,” says Juan, as he prepares to grind his grain. “They inspire daydreams and take us back to the world of our childhood. It’s no surprise that Cervantes was inspired by the mills.”

We notice the prosthetic ear the left side of his head. “An accident,” he replies succinctly. It was in 2005. He was working on the sail mechanism and had not properly secured the brake chain. “There was a gust of wind and my body got caught in the gears. I ended up with a few broken ribs, a perforated lung, an open collarbone fracture and a ripped-up ear. I spent three months in intensive care, then took a year to recover. The doctors were surprised at my will to live. I was lucky to have my family around me, otherwise I might not have made it.” One can’t help but wonder: is not this picaresque hero, a man who himself has stood up to the ‘giants’ of La Mancha and devotes his life to restoring them, Don Quixote’s worthiest heir? n

A PRESTIGIOUS PAST Consuegra’s first windmills were built in the late 16th century, on either side of the Castillo de la Muela, a few years before Miguel de Cervantes began writing Don Quixote.

These mills were used to grind grain from the surrounding fields and press olives to produce oil. Their ancient but highly sophisticated mechanism was modelled after the mills in the Middle East, discovered

by the Crusaders during their missions to the Holy Land from the 11th to the 13th centuries.

In its heyday, the La Mancha region was home to some 500 windmills. While some remained active until the mid-20th century, competition from industrial milling gradually led to them being abandoned.

About 60 of them are still standing today.

¡VIVA ESPAÑA!

70

HOW COULD ANYONE RESIST THESE SPANISH PASTRY CLASSICS? WHETHER CREAMY OR FRUITY, ICY OR CHOCOLATY, EACH WILL GO PERFECTLY WITH YOUR FAVOURITE COFFEES. Preparation Audrey Cosson Photos Virginie Garnier

ARROZ CON LICHE AND CARAMEL-COFFEE COULIS & INDRIYA FROM INDIA CAPPUCCINO SERVES FOUR PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes COOKING TIME: 40-50 minutes INGREDIENTS: 4 capsules of Indriya

from India (4 x 40 ml) - 4 x 60 ml milk for frothing.

For the recipe: 180 g round-grain rice - 1 litre whole milk - 50 g fine granulated sugar - peel of ½ an organic lemon - 3 cinnamon sticks.

For the caramel: 100 g fine granulated sugar - 100 ml double cream - 15 g butter with sea-salt crystals - 40 g unsalted shelled pistachios - 1 handful raspberries - 1 capsule of Indriya from India (1 x 25 ml).

Pour the rice and milk into a saucepan along with the sugar, lemon peel and cinnamon sticks.

Bring to a boil, then let simmer 30 to 40 minutes over very low heat, stirring regularly. The rice must be cooked, but still covered with 1 cm of milk. Remove from heat then remove the cinnamon sticks and lemon peel. ■ Pour the sugar into another saucepan, add 30 ml of water and place over in a low heat. Meanwhile, in yet another saucepan, gently warm the cream. As soon as the sugar turns into a golden caramel, remove from heat and add the double cream while beating briskly. Put the caramel saucepan

back over a low heat, cut the butter into small cubes and add to caramel, while whisking, then add the 25 ml of coffee. Remove from heat. ■ Divide the rice into bowls, cover with caramel and sprinkle with crushed pistachios and raspberries. ■ Serve with an Indriya from India Cappuccino (40 ml).

Touch Collection Cappuccino Mug

by Nespresso.

Assistant stylist Marine Durand.

Bowls by Jars; wallpaper by Murals Wallpaper.

■

GOURMET Coffee CHURROS AND MOCHA SAUCE & DHARKAN LATTE MACCHIATO

Small bowl by Muji; plate by Laurette Broll; ceramics from Nous Paris; Cole and Son wallpaper from Au fil des couleurs.

SERVES FOUR PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes COOKING TIME: 20 minutes INGREDIENTS: 4 capsules of Dharkan

(4 x 40 ml) - 4 x 180 ml milk to be frothed.

For the recipe: 150 g flour - 1 pinch salt - frying oil - fine granulated sugar (sprinkled as topping). For the sauce: 1 capsule of Dharkan (25 or 40 ml) - 100 g dark chocolate - 75 g double cream.

Finely chop the chocolate and place in a large mixing bowl. Gently heat the cream. When it just starts to simmer, pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted, then add the Dharkan, in 25 or 40 ml, depending on whether you prefer stronger or subtler coffee flavour in the mocha sauce.

Stir and keep warm over the heat. ■ In a saucepan, boil 250 ml of water with the salt. Remove from the heat and add all the flour in a single motion. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to form a smooth, lump-free batter. ■ Place the batter into a piping pocket with a fluted tip. Heat the frying oil in a saucepan.

Once the oil is hot, squeeze in a length of batter into the oil. Form churros of the desired length by cutting the batter at the tip with scissors or a knife.

■ Brown and turn the churros. Once browned, remove with a skimmer and place immediately on a sheet of absorbent paper. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. ■ Serve immediately with the hot mocha sauce. ■ Serve with a Dharkan Latte ■

Macchiato (40 ml).

View Collection Recipe Glass by Nespresso.

71

72 QUESADA PASIEGA & ICED VANILIO COFFEE SERVES FOUR PREPARATION TIME: 20 minutes COOKING TIME: 50 minutes INGREDIENTS: 4 capsules of Vanilio (4 x 40 ml)

- 4 x 3 Nespresso ice cubes (4 x 90 g) - 4 x 90 ml frothed cold milk.

For the recipe: 4 eggs - 250 g fine granulated sugar - 100 g melted butter (set aside small quantity for the mould) - 500 g curd cheese - 1 tsp. powdered cinnamon - peel of ½ an organic lemon - 1 pinch salt - 100 g flour - 200 g mixed raspberries and blueberries.

For the bottom crust: 150 g finely crushed Speculoos-type cinnamon biscuits - 60 g melted butter.

batter on top, then divide the rest of the fruit among the moulds and bake for 8 minutes.

Lower the oven heat to 180° C (350° F, gas mark 4) and continue baking for another 30 minutes. Cover the tartlets with aluminium foil and continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes. ■ Remove from oven and let cool.

Pop out from moulds and serve either while still slightly warm or once completely cooled.

■ Serve with a Vanilio iced coffee (40 ml). Place 90 g of ice cubes in the bottom of each glass, pour the hot coffee directly over them, then top with 90 ml of cold frothed milk.

Pure Collection Recipe Glass by Nespresso.

Plate by Marion Graux; fabric by Pierre Frey.

■ Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F, gas mark 6). ■ Butter four small moulds with removable bottoms (or 1 large mould) and line them with parchment paper. Blend the melted butter and crushed Speculoos and press a layer of the mixture onto the bottom and sides of the moulds, tapping down with fingers to create a smooth surface. Refrigerate the moulds. ■ In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar and butter. In another bowl, lightly combine the cheese, cinnamon, lemon peel and salt without overmixing. Add this mixture to the egg mixture and stir together with a spoon. Add the flour and continue stirring. ■ Place a few mixed berries in the bottom of the moulds. Pour the

73

Glasses by Merci; fabric by Pierre Frey.

CATALAN ICE-CREAM AFFOGATO & ARPEGGIO DECAFFEINATO SERVES FOUR PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes COOKING TIME: 15 to 20 minutes CHURNING TIME: 30 to 40 minutes FREEZING TIME: overnight INGREDIENTS: 4 capsules of Arpeggio

Decaffeinato (4 x 40 ml).

For the recipe: 500 ml whole milk - 80 g fine granulated sugar - 1 cinnamon stick - the zest of 1 organic lemon - 100 g egg yolk - 30 g corn starch. For the caramel shards: 100 g fine granulated sugar 10 g glucose syrup.

The day before, place the milk, 45 g sugar, cinnamon and lemon peel

■

in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Immediately remove from heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. ■ In a bowl, whisk the remaining sugar, egg yolk and corn starch. Strain the milk and pour into the egg mixture, whisking to mix well. ■ Heat the preparation in a double boiler, whisking constantly, until the cream thickens and coats the back of a spoon. ■ Pour the cream into a shallow bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it cool completely before pouring into an ice-cream machine. Churn for 30 to 40 minutes to obtain a rich, dense ice cream. If not yet of the proper

texture, churn another 10 minutes.

Place in the freezer overnight. ■ The next day, make the caramel shards by heating the sugar and glucose syrup with 20 ml of water until it produces a golden caramel. Pour immediately onto a silicone baking mat and tip the mat in all directions to spread the caramel into a thin layer. Let the caramel cool, then break with a knife. ■ Serve with an Arpeggio Decaffeinato (40 ml).

Place a scoop of ice cream into small cups or bowls. Pour the coffee over each and sprinkle with caramel shards.

Serve immediately.

SCOFFEE-TINGED SANGRIA-STYLE FRUIT SOUP & ROSABAYA DE COLOMBIA SERVES FOUR PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes COOKING TIME: 15 minutes INGREDIENTS: 1 capsule of

Rosabaya de Colombia (1 x 40 ml) - 2 dessert oranges - 4 white peaches - ¼ watermelon - 50 cl red wine 3 tbsp. Cointreau - 250 g fine granulated sugar - 2 cinnamon sticks - peel of ½ organic orange - 1 vanilla bean.

Cut the orange into sections, cut the peaches into small chunks and

■

dice the watermelon. Mix in a bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour. ■ Pour the sugar, red wine and Cointreau into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, add the cinnamon, orange peel and the vanilla bean (split in two), simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to completely dissolve the sugar. Add the 40 ml of Rosabaya de Colombia, mix and let cool. ■ Divide the fruit into bowls. Pour the syrup over the top and serve well chilled.

Alcohol is harmful to your health. Please drink responsibly.

74

CHOCOLATE GANACHE, OLIVE OIL AND FLEUR DE SEL & RISTRETTO DECAFFEINATO CON HIELO

Small pink bowl by Maison Sarah Lavoine; bowls by Serax; Cole and Son wallpaper from Au fil des couleurs. Plate by Marion Graux; fabric by Pierre Frey.

SERVES FOUR PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes COOKING TIME: 10 minutes REFRIGERATION TIME : 4 hours INGREDIENTS : 4 capsules of Ristretto Decaffeinato (4 x 25 ml)

- 4 x 60 g ice cubes - 1 stick sugar (3 g).

For the recipe: 120 g dark chocolate - 25 cl double cream - 2 egg yolks - 40 g fine granulated sugar - ½ ficelle-style baguette loaf - 4 tbsp. olive oil - fleur de sel.

■ Finely chop the chocolate and place in a bowl. In a medium

saucepan, gently heat the cream. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until the mixture whitens. Pour the heated cream over the egg mixture and whisk. Return to the saucepan and heat over a very low heat while whisking, until cream thickens. Pour the mixture over the chocolate, stirring with a spoon to ensure the chocolate is melted and producing a smooth mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, let cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for 4 hours. ■ Preheat the oven to 200° C (400° F, gas mark 6). Cut the bread into very thin slices. Brush both sides of each slice with olive oil and place on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.

Cover with another baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until slices are golden brown. ■ Divide remaining olive oil onto plates. Form ganache quenelles using 2 tablespoons, placing them on the olive oil. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and garnish with the toasted bread slices. ■ Serve with a Ristretto Decaffeinato con hielo. Pour the sugar into the cup, add ice cubes. Pour the coffee (25 ml) over the ice cubes and stir.

View Collection Lungo Mugs by Nespresso.

75

EXPLORATIONS COLLECTION

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

The coffee trees of Aguadas, Colombia, grow in rich soil amply watered by the rains.

IN KEEPING WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE EXPLORATIONS COLLECTION, A NEW DUO OF GRANDS CRUS TRANSPORTS YOU TO UNDISCOVERED HORIZONS OF TASTE. RIDE THE FLORAL CURRENTS THAT FLOW TO ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE AND PREPARE YOUR TASTE BUDS FOR THE EXTRAORDINARY SWEETNESS OF COLOMBIA AGUADAS.

By Sophie Rivat

These small, hard Ethiopian Yirgacheffe beans will release intense floral notes.

CLOSE YOUR EYES, FEEL THE CUP’S GENTLE WARMTH AGAINST YOUR PALM, LET THE COFFEE’S AROMAS RISE TO YOUR NOSE, INVIGORATING YOUR SOUL. Set sail for

new sensory horizons. A journey, even a motionless one, is a time to explore unique lands, atmospheres and savoirfaire. And it is with great delight that Nespresso invites you to taste the coffees of the Explorations Collection. Unlike a Limited Edition, this collection presents two micro-crop coffees twice a year. Seen as veritable gems by Nespresso experts, the Explorations selections boast extraordinary aromatic profiles. Sold in tandem, they form a fascinating aromatic juxtaposition that will awaken and entrance your inner coffee connoisseur. Following the twosome of Laos Bolaven Plateau and Kenya Peaberry, the second edition has now arrived: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe and Colombia Aguadas, two creations with unusual stories behind them. Farmers in Ethiopia and Colombia practise remarkable, unconventional coffee-growing techniques and our experts, ever on the lookout for aromatic adventure, take that which nature and man modestly share and improve upon it. Developing a genuine coffee culture demands curiosity and a desire to experience gustatory emotions at once powerful and fleeting. These rare coffees, produced in very small quantities, will be available for only a few weeks.

•••

COLOMBIA AGUADAS: SWEET SUMMITS So you thought you knew everything there is to know about Colombian coffee? Nespresso experts did, too, until they made an unexpected discovery. The story began around a cupping table in the small town of Aguadas, deep in the mountains of the Central Cordillera. Batch after batch, the experts tasted the green coffee, ever alert for irregularities that could alter a Grand Cru or an unusual sapidity that could enhance a new blend. That day, one note – just one –, unusual for the region, gained their full attention. A dreamy flavour, an extraordinary, luscious sweetness.

This surprising stroke of luck marked the start of a great adventure.

Both experts and agronomists, galvanised by this discovery, set off to track down this coffee.

Their search would bring them to a group of 61 farmers working high in the mountains, where the nights’ chill slows the fermentation time of the coffee cherries.

The coffee growers, adapting naturally to the microclimate, let their crops ripen longer than usual. A technique that produces an incredibly sweet note.

To this is added the meticulous care that the farmers devote to picking the ripest cherries and drying the beans in the sun. Quality is not coincidental. Hand in hand, producers and agronomists have since refined these remarkable practices.

And our experts developed a roasting process that produces a Grand Cru of mesmerising sweetness, somewhere between subtle acidity and candied fruit notes. Simply spellbinding.

Cupping is a crucial step in assessing a crop’s aromatic profile.

The Aguadas coffee co-operative encompasses high-altitude villages located between 1,500 and 2,000 metres above sea level.

Yirgacheffe families have enjoyed their coffee together several times a day for ten generations.

ETHIOPIA YIRGACHEFFE FLORAL MUSE

The Yirgacheffe Grand Cru was created with a coffee grown exclusively in a microregion of Ethiopia.

The name Yirgacheffe is music to every coffee lover’s ear.

Perhaps you have already inhaled its legendary floral notes, typical of southern Ethiopia, where it is harvested? When a producer describes it, he talks of a delicate cup that he prepares and sips daily, as his family has for ten generations.

He also describes the mountains where the bean still grows wild.

Legend has long told of the jasmine and bergamot fragrances found in Yirgacheffe. With the passage of time and changes in the region’s trade flows, its fabled nuances, prized by the entire world, have become difficult to find. Nespresso, though, has never ceased this quest.

During every tasting session, our experts have sampled, watched, waited. Harvest after harvest.

Year after year. Until one day, at long last, a cup exuded these exceptional floral notes.

Those which, to their savvy senses, were the sign of an authentic Yirgacheffe. Recreating the aromatic finesse of such a coffee required light, subtle roasting, capable of capturing the bean’s evanescent flavours. Thus was born Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, a delight that we now wish to share with you. Patience is the mother of all virtues. n

PARTNERS IN TIME TRANSPARENT DESIGNER CUPS OF MESMERISING MATERIALS AND SEAMLESS SHAPES. THE NEW VIEW COLLECTION IS WITH YOU FROM DAWN ‘TIL DARK. AND YOU’LL SOON BE TOGETHER YET AGAIN. Photos Caspar Miskin Set design Juliette de Cadoudal/Royal Ferry Copy by Sophie Rivat

Come morning, your Latte celebrates the sun’s first rays, reflected in the new View Recipe Glass.

Available in two thicknesses, the crystal-clear glass captivates the gaze. A smooth and harmonious start to the day.

NESPRESSO Lifestyle

81

Chairs by La Boutique; glass, butter knife and napkin by Merci; cutting board by The Conran Shop; plate by Fleux.

Shaped in the imaginations of the atelier oï designers, the roomy, welcoming handles on the cups of this collection beckon to the senses, inviting a caress.

Instinctively, your hand reaches out and wraps around this Cappuccino cup, becoming one with its smooth, pleasing curves.

Ah, togetherness.

82 Quiet time. Nestled in your cupped hands, the mug in this collection generously invites your coffee to stretch out, Americano style.

Amaretti – crispy outside, moist and tender inside – and Tuscan almond cantuccini are poised to take part.

Plate by Merci; coffee table and lamp by La Petite Boutique; linen throw by Fleux; spoons by The Conran Shop.

Amaretti or cantuccini biscuits (Nespresso).

Alone at last, ready to enjoy a last Espresso or Lungo in peaceful privacy. Between the glass cup and its steel saucer – half-chromed, half-brushed – a dialogue flows and swirls, light shimmers, sparkles and dances. Would you like a chocolate with your coffee?

84

BIG PLEASURES COME IN SMALL PACKAGES DESPITE ITS INCREDIBLY COMPACT DESIGN, THE ESSENZA MINI MACHINE DOESN’T COMPROMISE ON TASTE. ITS STREAMLINED BEAUTY WILL FIND JUST THE RIGHT PLACE IN YOUR PERSONAL SPACE. AND PROVING THAT, WHEN IT COMES TO TALENT, SIZE DOESN’T MATTER!

Available in two designs, each one in three colours, the Essenza Mini gives you a palette of options to match your machine to your interior. This sleek model in white also comes in black or intense grey.

Slip it anywhere in the kitchen, office or library.

China Clay Mid and Hortense matte paint by Little Greene. Coverings by Leroy Merlin.

Photos Caspar Miskin Set design Juliette de Cadoudal / Royal Ferry Copy by Sophie Rivat

NESPRESSO Design

And when it comes to form, the latest little Nespresso is all about sensuality.

This model, with softly rounded lines in ruby red, is also available in white or lime green.

Which one will you fall for?

85

With two programmable cup sizes, the Essenza Mini Machine prepares your favourite Espressos and Lungos with the touch of a button. The sleek design, which won several awards in 2017, has both sporty and sophisticated appeal.

Celestial Blue matte paint by Little Greene; shuttlecocks by Decathlon.

86

Terra de Siena and Marigold matte paint by Little Greene. Some of the above products may not be available in your country.

87

Everything has been miniaturised with this machine... except the taste! Though it stands at just 20cm tall, it is uncompromising on flavour, cup after cup. A petite powerhouse of coffee pleasure!

88

NESPRESSO Lifestyle

FREESTYLE WHAT COULD BE MORE ELEGANT THAN A TULIP OR A ROSETTA ADORNING YOUR CAPPUCCINO? NOW YOU TOO, CAN MASTER LATTE ART WITH THE CREATISTA PLUS. BE YOUR OWN BARISTA! Photos Caspar Miskin Set design Juliette de Cadoudal/Royal Ferry Copy by Sophie Rivat

Pure Collection Cappuccino Cup and Recipe Glass by Nespresso; View Collection Cappuccino Cup by Nespresso.

Ferm Living carafe by Fleux; spoons and peppermill by The Conran Shop; wooden tray by Muji, terrazzo pot by Fleux; utensils by BHV.

Have you dreamed of tracing a tulip or rosetta with true barista flair?

Now you can try your hand at latte art in the smooth and creamy perfection of ultra-fine milk microfroth. Creatista Plus makes your beverage to measure, in different textures and temperatures, depending on the recipes you choose. And this expert machine leaves nothing to chance, starting with its brushed-steel design that won the Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ Award.

To get started, all you need is a Grand Cru and a bit of cold milk in the pitcher provided. Creatista Plus offers eight recipes that you select from the intuitive interface. The steam wand automatically prepares the ideal milk froth – from among 11 different temperatures and eight froth textures. With a little training, you’ll finally know all the secrets behind latte art.

Improve your technique during the steam pipe rinse cycle. Ready to do it again?

Perfect your latte-artist skills by watching our videos at www.nespresso.com.

Glass jar, utensils and ceramic pot by The Conran Shop; shirt by Bellerose, towel and spoon by Merci; wooden tray by Muji.

With Creatista Plus, create a tulip by using the free-pouring technique.

Step 1: Once the coffee is extracted, pour the frothed milk into the centre of the cup from a height of 5 cm.

Step 2: Pour again, slowly tracing back and forth from right to left.

Repeat this gesture twice in succession, speeding up your movement while reducing the milk flow. Your design then appears. Step 3: Trace a line of frothed milk from the cup edge to the centre. Your tulip is finished and the coffee is ready to serve!

Tip: For greater contrast, choose the darker crema of the Arpeggio or Dharkan Grands Crus!

THIS MACHINE MODEL MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN YOUR COUNTRY.

ENVIRONMENT

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

NESPRESSO Sustainable development

Humberto takes his bags of fresh cherries to the Jardín processing centre.

“AT LAST, WE CAN TAKE THE TIME TO ENJOY LIFE!” EXCLAIM ESTEBAN, HUMBERTO AND LUIS ÁNGEL IN UNISON. INDEED, THE LIFE OF THESE COLOMBIAN COFFEE GROWERS HAS BEEN TRANSFORMED SINCE THEY JOINED FORCES WITH NESPRESSO TO COFOUND A COFFEE-CHERRY PROCESSING CENTRE. THE PROJECT’S SUCCESS HAS SURPASSED THEIR WILDEST DREAMS.

By Sophie Rivat

93

Esteban and his family pose in front of his farm.

THE STORY BEGAN IN 2010, IN JARDÍN, 100 KILOMETRES SOUTH OF MEDELLÍN. Surrounded by the lux-

uriant vegetation of the Colombian Andes, the village is renowned for its colonial architecture – and its coffee-grower community. Nespresso has not only made a commitment to supporting the excellence of the Arabica produced in the region, but has worked to preserve the ecosystem, as well. The objective was clear: to improve the quality of the beans by building a processing centre for washing and pulping the coffee as effectively as possible, while respecting the environment. By reducing the typical water consumption by 60%, the centre remains in keeping with Nespresso’s AAA sustainable development programme. Seven years later, the new working conditions have had a tremendous positive impact on the producers. Three of them – Esteban, Humberto and

Humberto and his daughter Andrea are butterfly enthusiasts.

Luis Ángel, all members of the coffee cooperative in a partnership with Nespresso – tell us how the centre changed their lives and the lives of their families.

ESTEBAN BECAME A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER

When the past is mentioned, Esteban’s eyes narrow, revealing a light web of wrinkles: “Before the centre opened, we did all the processing at home, in our back yards and streams. During the harvest, we spent eleven or twelve hours a day picking cherries. The next day, we washed them at 4 o’clock in the morning and then pulped them by hand, sometimes until 8 or 9 o’clock at night. Today, these two steps are done by machines.” The centre obviously gave him the chance to enjoy some free time – “Up to five hours a day!” he enthuses – which he wanted to put to good use by helping others.

Sitting on his wooden patio, the man contemplated the tranquil harmony of the landscape: “The smallest thing could start a forest fire that would wipe out everything.” So he decided to join Jardín’s firefighters as a volunteer: “I have to help my community when it needs it,” he said, keeping an eye on his son, Ishmael, playing nearby.“I know my child is proud of that, especially when I help him climb up into the big red truck!” (Laughter.)

HUMBERTO IS PUTTING HIS DAUGHTER THROUGH COLLEGE

Like any good father, Humberto is proud of Andrea. Both of them care deeply for trees, plants and forests.

He even gave his daughter a camera so she could take pictures of the area’s native butterfly species.

The change in his workload resulting from the centre’s opening means Humberto now has more time

Luis Ángel and his son Matthias enjoy fishing together.

to spend with his family and has been able to pay for Andrea’s botany studies. The centre has helped improve the washing, fermentation and pulping processes for the fresh cherries.

This, in turn, has led to virtually zero loss, with 100% of the processed beans now becoming high-quality green coffee.“The moment there are fewer rejects, we make more money,” explains Humberto. And that leads to truly priceless changes: a future for Andrea, for whom a university degree is becoming a reality.“I’ll come back to Jardín,” the young woman tells us,“and, thanks to my father’s work, I’ll apply everything I learn there to our life here.”

LUIS ÁNGEL IS REDISCOVERING THE RIVER’S FISH

“We’ve brought back our family’s golden years!” cries Luis Ángel.

This solidly built man has an inimitable talent for describing the winding river at the foot of the village of Jardín, between the steep, verdant slopes of the rainforest. There below, where the river’s flow is slowed by enormous boulders, Luis Ángel and his son Matthias go fishing together. But not without first carefully choosing the right bait for their lines. Still, these shared hours were not possible back when the coffee cherries were washed in that same

THE COFFEE-CHERRY PROCESSING CENTRE HELPS PROTECT THE LOCAL ECOSYSTEM

current: the site was polluted by the mucilage, causing a sharp decline in aquatic life.“When we removed the clear membrane that covers the coffee beans, it stayed there in the river and rotted,” Luis recalls.“Even when we went swimming, it was so polluted that we kept our shoes on.”

Today, because the coffee growers now wash the cherries at the processing centre, the river once again runs clean and clear. The father can pass on to his son what his own father nurtured in him: a passion for fishing. And, to the delight of Luis and Matthias Ángel, the fish are spawning anew in the rivers and streams around the village. n

> For more information: nespresso.com/thechoiceswemake

96

ODE TO JOY!

CRAIG & KARL, THE ILLUSTRIOUS GRAPHIC-ARTIST DUO, LET THEIR IMAGINATIONS RUN FREE, WRAPPING THE NESPRESSO GIFT COLLECTION IN CANDY COLOURS. RICH TINTS, ELEGANT LINES AND VIBRANT PATTERNS CREATE A MOOD OF CELEBRATION. PEPPY POP PRESENTS THAT ARE “READY-TO-GIVE”!

By Sophie Rivat

1

READY-SET-GO The Touch Collection, designed by Berliners Geckeler Michels, is expanding with a clever portable dispenser. Slip in up to 15 capsules and take it wherever you wish.

And it’s all dressed up for the festive season in pop-spirit packaging

by Craig & Karl, for even greater style!

“The colours echo the three Confetto Variations and, more broadly, the graphic design creates a sort of candy-themed world.

The execution is more design-led and sophisticated, though, to strike the right balance with a contemporary look.”

CRAIG & KARL

DO YOU KNOW CRAIG & KARL, THE DYNAMIC DUO? They’re a transatlantic twosome: Craig Redman is based in New York, Karl Maier lives in London. These Australians – old college friends now setting trends – are making a name for themselves with their bold visual creativity, pairing clean lines and bright colours that resonate in a digital world. In no time at all, their work made an impression on the Paris concept store Colette, which shot them into the stratosphere of fashion.

Their clients now include names like LVMH, Nike, Apple, Kiehl’s and The New York Times.

2

MOUSSE PARTY

In its colourful, 100%-Craig-&-Karl covering, the Aeroccino 3 exudes a delightfully festive feel. With a supersimple system, it can prepare creamy, light milk froth in just a few seconds. Time to reach for your recipes!

NESPRESSO Boxed Sets

3

4

TOUCH CONNECTION

The Lungo and Espresso Touch cups, crafted of ceramic and silicone, have a spirited new look, brightly trimmed in vibrant stripes developed

by Craig & Karl. Available in boxed sets of two.

TOUCH TRAVEL MUG

All dressed in black and tucked inside a candy-coloured box of classic Craig & Karl flair, the Travel Mug is as sleek and stylish as ever. Inside its doublewall stainless-steel design, this nomadic companion keeps your drink hot or cold and can hold up to 350 ml of coffee.

5

GOOD TO BE SQUARE

The gourmet chocolate season is upon us!

Dark or milk, bursting with tangy raspberry morels or crackling with crispy corn – they promise to make your next coffee moment your best ever.

40-piece box (200 grams).

Some of the above products may not be available in your country.

97

98

CONFETTO VARIATIONS THE FLAVOUR OF FUN

SNOWBALL CONFETTO VARIATIONS Let your taste buds travel on tropical notes of exotic coconut and sweet, sensual vanilla.

Livanto teams up with the flavour of that coconut-covered treat for a postcard from paradise sent straight to your cup.

THE 2017 VARIATIONS FIND INSPIRATION IN THE CANDIES OF OUR CHILDHOOD, DECORATED BY THE COLOURFUL ARTISTRY OF CRAIG & KARL. TRY ALL THREE OF THESE JOYOUS LIMITED EDITIONS – THEY WILL TAKE YOU BACK IN TIME TO RELIVE THOSE DAYS OF LOLLIPOPS AND LIQUORICE STICKS.

“We approached the Limited-Edition capsules as though they were sweets, using elements often seen on candy wrappers to create a witty and playful connection.”

CRAIG & KARL

LICORICE CONFETTO VARIATIONS Livanto is always ready for anything and here adopts the playful shape and taste of a liquorice treat. Sweet and sassy notes create a surprisingly refined, free-spirited accord.

ORANGETTE CONFETTO VARIATIONS

“We used stripes as a core, unifying element to bring the concept to life; they bring to mind candy canes and old-timey sweets, but are also very modern and visually striking, which brought our two worlds together perfectly.”

CRAIG & KARL

Livanto gets along with just about any flavour. Here it’s paired with the taste of candied orange, revealing its own full, rich, round body.

Together, they create a joyful glow wrapped in delightful notes of chocolate.

COFFEE MARK Nuria Mora

Nuria Mora

T H E M A R K O F A CA P TA I N .

When explorers roamed the oceans, the torpilleur was the captain’s watch – a pocket chronometer which was the mark of his rank both onshore and off. Today’s urban explorers prefer to captain their own destiny. For them, we present our new Torpilleur: at once casual, elegant and resolutely modern.

Quality without compromise.

Marine Torpilleur 60 hours power reserve.

Self-winding manufacture.

Silicium technology. ulysse-nardin.com