Briggs Luisa Negrón spent the fall 2022 semester at NYU Madrid. She’s a junior majoring in Journalism and Social and Cultural Analysis with a minor in Creative She chose Madrid to improve her Spanish and learn more about Spain as her family is Puerto Rican and has some Spanish background. She’s also very interested in the queer communities in Madrid and learning about these groups in Chueca and Lavapies, two neighborhoods with significant queer populations. She hopes to eventually pursue immigration or criminal defense law as well as journalism in my future.
Dispatches by Briggs Luisa Negrón
The Innovative Resilience of Lavapies bookstores and residents
Three days after Spain’s pandemic lockdown began in March 2020 and workers went home, Santiago Palacios was back in his bookstore, Sin Tarima, working the phones and fielding emails…<read more>
A push for a smoke free Spain and the power of the tobacco industry
One late October afternoon, at a small tapas bar in Plaza del Rey, a group of young Spaniards sit around an outdoor table laughing and drinking Estella, a popular Spanish beer…<read more>
El Rincón Guay: A Haven for LGBTQ+ Immigrants
For nine years, waiter and bartender Miguel Angel Lara Muñoz has worked at bar El Rincón Guay, a hot spot in one of Madrid’s most diverse neighborhoods, Lavapies. Six meters of rainbow flags cover the front door; inside, Muñoz works at the bar, preparing coffees and Spanish dishes such as migas…<read more>
Focusing on Diverse Voices
In late September. journalist Leah Pattem photographed the scene as dozens of homeless people were escorted by Madrid police from the building in La Quimera where they had been squatting, The next day, Pattem posted “The Eviction of La Quimera” on her blog, MadridNoFrills…<read more>