Where Rizal, Ilustrados hung out in Madrid
Founded in 1856, Viva Madrid is one of the city’s oldest and most iconic taverns, located in the historic Barrio de las Letras, home to celebrated Spanish writers like Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega.
MEANING corner honoring José Rizal, the Philippine national hero who once dined here in 1884.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DENI BERNARDO FOR THE DAILY TRIBUNE
Home to propagandists
This Independence Month and the birth month of Philippine National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal, let us revisit the places where Rizal and his friends, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Juan Luna and other Ilustrados used to meet, debate, write and socialize in Madrid, Spain.
Our first stop, where Rizal is honored with a historical marker: Viva Madrid.
Founded in 1856, Viva Madrid is one of the city’s oldest and most iconic taverns, located in the historic Barrio de las Letras, home to celebrated Spanish writers like Miguel de Cervantes and Lope de Vega.
LOBBY in all its timeless charm — high stucco ceilings, warm lighting, and original details beautifully preserved.
Viva Madrid has long been known for its colorful tiled azulejos exterior depicting Plaza de Cibeles, a square with a neo-classical complex of marble sculptures and fountains that has become a symbol of Madrid. The tavern served as a popular hangout for 19th-century Filipino reformers, including Rizal.
During the 1880s, Dr. Jose Rizal lived in an apartment around the corner on Calle Echegaray, renamed in honor of the Spanish dramatist and Nobel laureate José Echegaray. Formerly known as Calle del Lobo (Wolf Street), Calle Echegaray is near Viva Madrid, so Rizal frequently met his compatriots there to dine on tapas, drink wine and plan libertarian reforms for the Philippines. It was also a frequent watering hole for propagandists like Graciano López Jaena.