Too much cheap beer last night. We met up with friends to checkout the new bar in a mansion/artist squat on Calle Atocha called
Palacio Social Okupado Malaya. This neglected opulent mansion is getting new life from a community of creative squatters. The beer at the bar costs how ever much you want to donate, which is a good deal to one as poor as I. The white plaster walls are covered with alternative art and posters. Drapery is festooned to the ceiling like colourful clouds. Behind the bar is the palatial city mansion where once clearly no money was spared. It's former splendor can still be seen in it's magnificent moldings, grand mirrors and ornately decorated wallpaper.
The bar. The white plaster has been scrapped away to show the ancient wood beam beneath but it's been done in such a way that it looks like an abstract Jesus on the cross.
The first floor was all we were allowed to poke around. The upper floors were under gated lock and key.
Still looking grand and lavish.
3 comments:
Dreams from the past. Your photographs capture the quaint beauty of the old place. Very nice.
Nice place, good pictures, I hope to visit it as soon is possible.
Thanks Lesley! I couldn't capture as much as I would have liked due to a 'cheap camera in the pitch black' problem but there's always next time :)
Gracias Carlos! you should definitely visit the Malaya. I haven't been to one yet, but I hear they host a bunch of events and performances. Check their website for more details.
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