Wendy E,
I was living until 1999 in Madrid and I don't think that Madrid had a large black population by that time, actually I think that it was very rare to see black people there (this was one thing that all my american friends and family pointed when they went to my wedding, they hardly ever saw black people)
So I wonder what part of the city where you staying and when, you might have been in a part of the city that I am not very familiar with.

My ladyfriend, who was born and raised in Madrid during her 30+ years, told me the same thing when I asked her about this topic because I hadn't seen ANY blacks in Madrid during my 3 visits. She said that they lived in their own barrios in/around Madrid and that they rarely ventured outside. This is what I was told anyway.

Saludos, MadridMan

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This would be REALLY interesting to know: where do the Africans in Madrid live? (I presume they are Africans) In what occupations do they work? When I was in the Tetuan area in the summer, I was in the heart of the barrio sudamericano, and it was fascinating to see all the shops and telefono places oriented toward specific groups. WHoever has the info on African communities, tell! gracias. siempre curiosa sobre MADRID. Makes me a madridcurio. a whole new member category!

Hola a todos,

This is a really interesting topic! Well, about the African neighbourhoods - it is probably Lavapiés. It really isn´t the African part more than it is the guiri part of town ---it does have have a huge immigrant section of all types - Asians, Africans (mostly Morrocans) etc...it also has great restaurants and places to hang out...

As for clubs, try La Comedia in Santa Ana...it´s one of the only places that plays rap/hip hop in Madrid (and thus, is one of my favorite places to go). It has a very varied mix of people...

Yes, madrid people do stare at you if you are different - my mother is from Sri Lanka and therefore, I look different...and people openly stare at me everywhere (especially on the Metro, for some reason). Usually, they are not hostile stares, but sometimes, the older Madrid ladies look at me strangely...

There is also the opposite - my boyfriend is Swedish and pretty tall, so he gets a lot of stares as well...and when we go out together...well, you can just imagine the looks

All in all, Madrid is not a great place for cultural diversity...but it is great place to visit (and live!)

I am a mother of a 20-year old black girl who is spending a semester in Spain at this time. To give a first-hand experience from a black girl, here is what she e-mailed:

"The Spanish people are very friendly, and I doubt they've seen anyone that looks like me before, b/c all the black people are the color of charcoal. And, the Africans here, the majority of them, don't have
much money, so obviously they have a somewhat bad reputation for being
antisocial and poor".


My daughter's skin tone is beautiful - not too dark or light - just right (morena as Spanish men call her). To add to that, she is beautiful.(I am Asian; my husband is black). Spanish men find her very attractive to a point that when she enters a club, the Spanish women give her bad look.

When she was 16 years old, she and I visited Hong Kong, Bali and Manila. Wherever she went, she was the only black person. While in Hong Kong, a young man, engineering student approach her and became our guide while we were in Hong Kong. Beauty is beauty regardless of color.

Of course, most of the time, you will be the only black which my daughter always find herself being the only "morena". Speaking/understanding Spanish helps being one of the few in the crowd. Go out there and see the world!

Madrid man, I first visited Spain the 50s--and about 25 more times over the subsequent years. I read Wright's Pagan Spain when I first went there, and re-read it recently.

Wright was a Communist, and had a strong bias against Franco. My impression from reading his book is that he went to Spain with pre-conceived notions and attitudes toward the country and the Government, searched for (or invented) things that would hoep make his case. I found little of real relevance in it. Regardless, it has absolutely no relevance a half-century later.

Better to suggest Jame's Michener's "Iberia,"
which contains a lot of accurate history and political thought at the time he wrote it. The political commentary in "Iberia" is dated now. But his treatment of the people and the cultural glories of Spain remain accurate and entertaining.
Cantabene

I lived in Madrid for 2 years ('91 - '93). My experience is that blacks are almost always indirectly discriminated against. This is because the most visible blacks are out on the streets hustling by selling cheap bogus products on blankets in and near the metro stops. It's not uncommon for the police to walk through Retiro park on a summer evening and see the africans scattering becuase they are illegal or don't have a licence to sell. It's just the way it is there - good or bad

I agree with cantabene's comments on Michener's "Iberia" and Wright's "Pagan Spain." I read the latter about two years ago, and really felt he had a bone to pick, and was picking a bit too hard. That said, however, I also felt he was the only one who wrote eloquently on what it was like to be a black person travelling through Spain. Comparing his comments with what I'd noticed over the years with black friends in Spain, I felt he was right on, even though it was decades later. Other than that, it's probably best that the book is out of print.

I really appreciate the comments regarding "Pagan Spain" which I have yet to read as I am pondering on whether or not to read it while I am there. If little else, it may be a good conversation starter.

But I would also like to note that as with any author it is important to also look at their lives when reading. I have read a quite a bit of books that were written by American expatriates living in Europe and I have as yet to find one that is not biased.

In other words, it can't be any worse than Hemingway's book about Paris, or Sylvia Beach's for that matter. Perhaps I will write a book from the perspective of a black woman in Spain? But I cannot guarantee that it will be without bias. We are human, biases come naturally.