There is Madrid to escape from, they say. When it is most radiant. With his suit of lights. Covered with garlands, wrapped with colored crystals. In reality, there is Madrid to believe in. She is appreciated for these homely, close dates. The young people walk hand in hand and the older ones stroll through the streets with their grandchildren. The city is made of chestnuts and sugar. And hope, illusion. That Madrid is here to escape from is said, above all, by the people of Madrid, and its habitual residents. Those who watch and kick her daily. They land in the town over the Constitution Bridge: Basques, Cantabrians, Andalusians, Extremadurans, Galicians, Valencians… They all long to see it. And this year, “more people than ever.”
This is how Rubén expresses it. He is with his wife and children in front of El Corte Inglés de Preciados, waiting to enjoy a Cortylandia pass. They have been coming to see the show for about four years. He indicates that access to the road has been “horrible”: “It took us three quarters of an hour to get there from Carretas!”
“This year there is much more lack of coordination,” says a family friend who was present. A week ago, the Madrid City Council reported that it had designed a special device for this year’s Christmas holidays. The device would have 450 municipal police officers, which could be increased by 800 troops on the busiest days, including the Constitution Bridge.
Puerta del Sol this bridge of the Constitution
A kilometer-long queue emerges from Preciados to enjoy the children’s show. Patient Alba awaits there with her family. He says that they come every year from Toledo to enjoy the bridge. «We have it as a habit. When I was little my parents always brought me to Cortyland, it brings back good memories. We don’t care about the influx of people. At this time, any city is more or less the same.
Near Sol, the establishments are crowded. “Yes, this is war, but we know what we are coming for,” Luis expresses gracefully. He comes from Cantabria with his wife, on a family visit: «You have us here every year. “We like this,” he says, referring to the crowd, the commotion that occurs while he talks to this newspaper around him. During the talk, hundreds of people enter and leave the popular shopping center to do their Christmas shopping.
Like Cristina, accompanied by her two daughters, Laura and Lidia. The people from Salamanca point out that they “love” to come to Madrid every year on this bridge. They have been doing it for at least four years. They stay in a hotel, 275 euros per night. «We take advantage and visit museums, we go to musicals – this year ‘The Choir Boys’ played – and we go shopping. Culturally, Madrid is incredible. In Salamanca we also have many shopping options, but not as many as here. We like precisely this, the core, the chaos. Our next stop is the Primark on Gran Vía,” the mother and daughters indicate, smiling.
Puerta del Sol this bridge of the Constitution
Juan and Adrián are employees, in different brands, of the Preciados department store. They both agree, laughing, that the situation that is most repeated these days is that of “foreigners asking you where the bathroom is.” «Sales go up a lot during these dates. The difference, really, is with last weekend, with Black Friday. So there was much more chaos than this, although it is true that today there are more people. It’s curious.”
Adrián, however, does not think the same as his partner. He works at the Ray-Ban stand: «I haven’t sold a single pair of glasses. When we have the most sales is at the beginning of January. Last year, around that time, I sold 1,400 euros in glasses, and the most expensive ones we have cost about 200. The employee points out that the most horrible thing about the bridge is, without a doubt, getting to his workplace: “It’s chaos. Today I came from Alcorcón and it took the same time to get from there to Ópera as it did from Ópera to Preciados. “I don’t understand why Sol closed.” At the exit, a police officer tells us that it is only for security reasons: «We are talking about the busiest stop in all of Madrid. It is more profitable to use the neighboring entrances in case there is an incident. “Especially this year, when much more movement was expected.”
Matxalen walks with her university friends through Plaza Mayor. They come from the Basque Country and Granada to visit their friend from Madrid. «We just came from watching a monologue. It is the second year that we have decided to spend the bridge in Madrid. It is a city that offers you hundreds of plans to do. And at this time it is beautiful,” he points out. They all assure that the Plaza Mayor is a mandatory stop. María, a vendor at one of the Christmas markets that decorate the square, believes that the influx of people is similar to last year. «This year, the only thing is that we started three days later. “The box suffers.”
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