In its first meaning, the Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines the word ‘pride’ as: “Feeling of satisfaction for one’s own achievements, abilities or merits or for something in which a person feels concerned.” In the neighborhoods that form Vallecas There are as many ways to understand Vallecano pride as there are people who inhabit them., which number more than 330,000 between the districts of Villa de Vallecas and Puente de Vallecas. Pride of belonging, class pride, pride of struggle or without pride, but Vallecanos.
One of the many prides is that of Verónica Esteban, a “lifelong” Vallecana who has been running El Rincón de Vallekas for a month“the first store in Vallecas that specializes in selling merchandising of the neighborhood,” she says proudly from inside her premises located on the corner between Arroyo del Olivar and Buenos Aires Avenue. “We Vallecanos are very Vallecanos, we really like to show off our acronyms“, he says while showing one of the t-shirts he sells in his store.
The display that Verónica has set up draws the attention of the neighbors, because it is rare that someone does not turn their head to look at it, even if they do not stop. A pirate skull and several caravels manned by figures dressed as Rayo Vallecano They preside over the store’s façade. Along with these buccaneers, t-shirts with designs that say “vallekanos around the world”, badges that say “100% vallecan@” or notebooks with the initials “VK”, complete the variety of neighborhood products that can be found inside.
One of those people who stands in front of the window is also Verónica, a customer of the store who on another occasion has bought a bodie for his future daughter, well She is pregnant and wants her to wear clothes from the neighborhood when she is born. For this thirty-year-old, Vallecano pride is understood from the neighbors’ struggle: “Vallecas has fought a lot and here we are. Even though they have had us in the background, we have always made a lot of noise.”
Verónica considers that in order to be part of Vallecas “you have to know its origins and that is achieved by becoming a neighborhood, talking with your neighbors.” “If you ask in Vallecas, it is very difficult to find a Vallecano with Vallecano parents. Almost all of them are children of Extremaduran, La Mancha or Catalan parents. The neighborhood has made itself, “she relates with a proud smile.
Another neighbor who stops in front of the storefront is Rosa, who has been in the neighborhood for 69 years, since she was born. Her long journey through these streets allows her to have a broader vision of what Vallecano pride is: “I like Vallecas. I have gone from feeling that Vallecas was a marginal neighborhood, to being totally integrated with the rest of Madrid“. While observing the different products sold in El Rincón de Vallekas, he says that he thinks it is “great” that people buy objects that identify with the neighborhood: “I like that young people wear these things if they feel proud”.
For many Vallecanos, the fact of identifying themselves as such through t-shirts, badges or stickers is something that does not suit them. “I wouldn’t buy these types of items, I don’t need to prove all the time that I am Vallecano. “When they ask me where I’m from, I say with pride that I live in Vallecas, but I don’t need to express it this way,” says Jorge, an 18-year-old young man walking along Buenos Aires Avenue with two other friends.
Other adopted Vallecanos, like Antonio, They have no pride in the neighborhood, despite the fact that he has been living in Vallecas for more than fifty years. “I’ve been here all my life, but I’ve always been working, as a taxi driver and as a cook. I was born in Bolaños de Calatrava and from there I feel“, he states bluntly.
A physical store after 14 years of fair after fair
For the owner of the store, having a physical place where she can sell her products is “every entrepreneur’s dream,” as she says that He started 14 years ago selling itinerantly from fair to fair.. “After so long the neighbors asked me to set up a store where they could come and buy bracelets, key chains or t-shirts. Before they had to wait for me until Christmas, when I set up a stand in the Albufera,” he says.
All the objects seen in the new store are the result of neighborhood artistic collaboration: “Fran makes us the key chains, Gema makes the badges, Marimar makes different accessories… all related to the district. We have managed to create a circular economy,” explains Verónica.
The beginnings of this Vallecana were related to crafts, when she sold wire beads and fimo keychains. Little by little, it incorporated products, such as thermal bags or wooden toys. He merchandising Vallecano arrived over time and gave it a great presence in the neighborhood. His latest addition to the store’s catalog are the miniature guitars and drums from marching bandswhich can place the store as a reference in the world of music collecting.
The store’s best-selling products are the Rayo Vallecano figures and the “vallekanos around the world” t-shirt, of which it has sold more than 1,000 in the last year, the last one destined for Miami. For Verónica, seeing someone with her designs on the street is “a great source of pride,” although what she likes most is seeing her stickers on her neighbors’ cars.
A meeting point in the neighborhood
Verónica’s goal with this store is to go one step further and turn it into a meeting point in the neighborhood. “I would like people to come to the premises and post their private classes, yoga workshops or childcare services on the bulletin board, whatever each person wants to contribute,” he explains. Furthermore, he reports that Her dream is to set up a sewing workshop.: “I have always wanted to design clothing and here I want to create a space where I can learn how to do it.”
At the moment, the beginnings are not being easy, but he is confident that El Rincón de Vallekas will gain momentum and allow him to make a living from it: “It has been a somewhat chaotic month and the beginnings are not being easy, since it has been brought together with other important markets throughout Spain. “I’ve been trying to open this store for three years and I’ve finally succeeded, so I’m happy because it’s an achievement.”
