Almudena Cros stands in the center of the Plaza Mayor, the 17th century centerpiece of old Madrid. She opens a large portfolio and reveals a photo from 1931. King Alfonso XIII had just abdicated the throne and a crowd of ebullient Spanish citizens have toppled the statue of King Philip III, the centerpiece of the square.
In 1931, the Spanish Republic was born, voted in by the country’s educated, working class and poor. Women received the right to vote after the Republic was established. In order to increase the standard of living for the entire country, the Republic needed to reduce the outdated benefits of the wealthy class, the military and the Church. By 1939, the Republic was over, defeated by cruel deceptions of Roman Catholic priests, Fascist forces of Generalissimo Francisco Franco and military support of Germany and Italy. Nearly 500,000 people died during the conflict, 200,000 in combat.
Almudena closes her portfolio and leads her group of visitors on to the Puerta del Sol and the Gran Via. The 19th century Neo-Mudejar, Secession and Art Deco buildings soar majestically above the ancient streets. Their 78 year old battle scars have been cosmetically repaired. She reveals photos of the same buildings and streets from 1937. The images show a burned out bombed out disaster as she continues with stories of the war, stories of Ernest Hemmingway and George Orwell who all came to Spain to help the Republican Rojos (reds), stories of the over 40,000 international volunteers of the International Brigades, stories of the brave and the suffering, stories handed down from her own grandparents who fought beside the Republican cause.
The next stop on the tour is to University City, home of the Complutense University of Madrid and the location of one of the fiercest battles between the Republicans and Fascists in 1937. The University buildings are still pockmarked and scarred with shrapnel and bullet wounds. Almudena asks a passing group of students if they know why the granite foundations are so disfigured and marred. The students shrug and say no. They have no idea. “This is a very common response,” she explains to her tour group. When Spain buried the dead, it seemed as if they buried all memory of the war.
She explains if western powers gave support to the Spanish Republic in 1936, they would have defeated Franco’s Fascist revolt and defeated the armies of Hitler and Mussolini. In other words, World War II might have never happened.
There are a lot of tour guides in Madrid, some who have earned guide badges and others who have not. The tour badge is no longer required in Madrid. There are also educated guides with various degrees in art and history but they usually rely on inner monologues, rarely stray from the script or are not from Madrid.
Almudena Cros represents the new type of tour guide. She is a flame of enthusiasm, armed with portfolios of photos, pouches of props and thought provoking tales as she takes you on a cinematic, theatrical journey through the history of Madrid. This is her city. She was born here. She knows stories from every corner. She has consulted on Pulitzer Prize author Richard Rhodes book on the Spanish Civil War, ‘Hell and Good Company’ and with filmmaker Peter Davis’ ‘Digging Spanish Earth’, a re-examination of Ernest Hemingway’s film ‘Spanish Earth’ 80 years later. She also serves as the President of the non-for-profit ‘Asociación de Amigos de las Brigadas Internacionales’, Friends of the International Brigades.
Dr. Almudena Cros is a PhD Art Historian who has studied in England, Italy, Germany and Spain and is fluent in Spanish, English and Italian. She currently teaches Art History at Suffolk University in Madrid but her passion for the history of Madrid is much too grand to contain inside the confines of a classroom. Almudena leads tours of ancient Spanish history. She gives in depth Art History tours of Goya and Velasquez through Madrid’s famous Prado Museum. She even has designed Museum tours for children using props, drawings and games to help younger minds discover the great masters.
History might be the study of the past, but in the hands of guides like Almudena Cros, history is a living entity in which an understanding of the past gives life to the creation of a future.
Her website, Across Madrid has complete itinerary and contact information.