La Latina, Madrid

One of the districts in Madrid, La Latina derives its name from Beatriz Galindo La Latina. La Latina is made of several blocks including Los Carmenes, Puerta Del Angel, Lucero, Aluche, and Campamento, Cuatro Vientos and Las Aguilas. In and around the La Latina are the origins of Madrid. It is hard to demarcate the margins of La Latina because, like most cities and districts in Spain, the streets and narrow and long-winded. There are nightlife destinations here with attractive churches like the Iglesia de San Andres and the Iglesia de San Francisco el Grande, as well as the town palace.

East of the La Latina, Madrid lies the Rastro, the most popular open air flea market in Spain that is held every Sunday morning. The word Rastro is Spanish for trail and was coined in the 16th century when a slaughterhouse bordered La Latina. The Plaza De La Paja is another entertaining and interesting spot in the vicinity of La Latina. It includes the crossroads of the road of Extremadura, with several tributaries of the Manzanares River. The district of La Latina is located over the terrains of the Quaternary Period. It was included in the 1845 administrative division of Madrid which was divided into 10 divisions.

La Latina, Madrid included the quarters that were included within the city as the district of Carabanchel in 1948. In the year 1978, La Latina was divided in the three current districts of Usera, Carabanchel and La Latina. Today, the latter is a beautiful residential neighborhood. The traveler can access La Latina, Madrid through the Cercanias commuter train line and Lines 5 and 10 of the Madrid Metro. Some of the places of interest near La Latina include: the Parque de Aluche, Centro Comercial Aluche, and Junta Municipal de Distrito, Colegio Público de Educación Especial Fray Pedro Ponce de León and Polideportivo municipal de Aluche.