Madrid: the old slaughterhouse of Legazpi

in hive-184437 •  3 years ago 

Read this post on TravelFeed.io for the best experience

Matadero Madrid Cultural Center, panoramic
Matadero Madrid Cultural Center, panoramic

Now it is a Cultural Center, with numerous and attractive offers of ludic entertainment, which desperately seeks to attract the attention of both the citizens of Madrid, as well as all those who continually visit us.

Sheep slaughter ship
Sheep slaughter ship

But no matter how much you have tried to improve your image; no matter how attractive the cultural offer that tries to present the most extravagant or avant-garde of the moment, without forgetting the period or auteur cinema or even the magic of the theater, deep down, the atmosphere continues to be charged with that limbo of horror, that would have delighted teachers like Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe or Stephen King.

Icy industrial architecture
Icy industrial architecture

It is not difficult to resort to the whimsical world of comparisons, no matter how odious or tedious they may be, and see in the alignment of those old buildings, clones determined by the lack of transparency, the same layout as the barracks of a concentration camp, laboratories included, where, without having to resort to the prose that was in those in the cold gates of entry, it came to mean the same sentence as for the condemned who entered Dante's Inferno: forgetting all hope of coming out again.

Water tank tower
Water tank tower

The only difference, which is no consolation, of course, is that this field of horror was not made for human beings, but for the holocaust of animals: a place of mass sacrifice, which would supply meat to a population, Madrid, that never has stopped growing.

Former place of sacrifice, today showrooms
Former place of sacrifice, today showrooms

Cold and equal in their aseptic design, the only thing that varied in these buildings was the sign next to the entrance door that indicated the nature of the cattle to be slaughtered: cattle, sheep or pigs.

Solid appearance and little to no transparency
Solid appearance and little to no transparency

It was also at his side, where not a few stories and legends of vampirism were generated, located at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, when a miserable part of the population - and when I say miserable, I do it with great respect - crowded around to receive blood, especially from cattle, which not only served them as a vital means of subsistence - do you remember the famous phrase of Bram Stoker's Dracula, referring to that blood is life? - but also as a remedy to alleviate the effects of certain diseases, such as anemia.

Space enabled for canteen
Space enabled for canteen

As you can see, all cities have their secrets and their dark marginalities, not always contained in scrupulous history books, so many times, a simple look back is enough to realize all the sacrifices suffered by previous generations and see in a way, how lucky we are, even with the problems that may affect us today.

Diversity in visitors
Diversity in visitors

NOTICE: Both the text and the accompanying photographs are my exclusive intellectual property and therefore are subject to my Copyright.

Matadero: An emblem of horror
Matadero: An emblem of horror


View this post on TravelFeed for the best experience.
Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Congratulations @juancar347! You received the biggest smile and some love from TravelFeed! Keep up the amazing blog. 😍 Your post was also chosen as top pick of the day and is now featured on the TravelFeed.io front page.

Thanks for using TravelFeed!
@smeralda (TravelFeed team)

PS: Have you joined our Discord yet? This is where over 1000 members of the TravelFeed come together to chat. Join us!

Thank-you very much