The JoaquÃn Leguina Regional Library opens its doors to a journey through the literary crimes of Madrid, a look that explores how the city has been the stage, mirror, and driving force of detective fiction in Spanish. Admission is free and the project can be visited. until the January 11 in the Exhibition Hall of the center.
Far from being decorated, Madrid behaves like a character who dialogues with the reader: conditions detectives, victims and witnesses, and sets the pace of each case. Curated by Tania Serrano BenÃtez and with the advice of Lawrence Silva, the exhibition traces the origin, evolution and different stages of capital noir.
A free sample at the Regional Library
The exhibition proposes a chronological and thematic itinerary that connects tradition with current trends, bringing together archival materials, first editions, photographs, posters, magazines, books and audiovisual resources. They come from the collections of the Regional Library and the public libraries of the Community of Madrid as well as from other cultural institutions.
The Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sport, Mariano de Paco Serrano, emphasizes that the capital has inspired generations of storytellers and that the noir genre, for its critical gaze and its ability to captivate readers, forms part of the shared cultural memory. The project also reinforces the institutional commitment to the dissemination of literary heritage and a diverse cultural offering.
From Cervantes to the present day: a map of the capital's noir
The tour begins in the Golden Age with a striking stop: Miguel de Cervantes and his story The force of blood (1613), where a victim takes on the role of investigator and they make their way embryonic codes of mysteryAmong the highlights is a first edition loaned by the National Library.
From the 19th century emerge the contributions of Benito Pérez Galdós y Emilia Pardo BazánGaldós plays with doubt and enigma in The unknown, while Pardo Bazán signs one of the canonical works of the genre, Drop of blood, and surprises with Equatorial, an unfinished project whose manuscripts have been loaned by the Royal Galician Academy.
Galdós also left behind a model journalistic investigation in The crime on Fuencarral Street, an investigation in the key of true crime long before contemporary Anglo-Saxon etiquette. He attended the trial, compared sources and documented the case of Luciana Borcino, which years later inspired a chapter of the series The footprint of crime.
The first third of the 20th century left scattered traces, between parodies and games of wit by authors such as Enrique Jardiel Poncela o Wenceslao Fernández Flórez, while the imitation of the Anglo-Saxon model appeared under pseudonyms. The genre, however, would not crystallize until the middle of the century.
That turning point comes with Francisco Garcia Pavon and its police officer Plinio. Although its natural territory is Tomelloso, in The red sisters (Nadal Prize, 1969) the investigator travels to Madrid to follow the trail of two missing women. Critics have seen Pavón to the father of the Spanish detective novel, and the exhibition includes references to its 1970s television adaptation.
With democracy, the capital becomes a narrative laboratory for political and social tensions. Manuel Vázquez Montalbán transfers Pepe Carvalho to Madrid in Murder in the Central Committee y Murder in Prado del ReyWhile John Madrid, Julian Ibáñez o Carlos Perez Merinero they weave plots in neighborhoods and outskirts; Jorge Martinez Reverte takes its journalist Julio Gálvez through museums and cafes with a marked urban cartography.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Arturo Perez-Reverte located in the capital The Flanders table y Fencing master, where culture, art and intrigue intersect. Madrid acts as symbolic setting and engine of suspense in these works.
In 1998 the civil guards burst in Bevilacqua and Chamorro, by Lorenzo Silva, with a cycle that travels through police stations, courts, and the streets of Madrid. His novels combine social denunciation and urban portrait, consolidating a bridge between tradition and renewal of the genre.
Since 2010, the landscape has become more diverse with Alicia Gimenez Bartlett, Jerónimo Tristante, Martha Sanz o carmen mola, along with the nostalgic look of Raphael King and the vertigo of the trilogy Red Queen de Juan Gomez-JuradoThe current payroll easily exceeds the fifty authors, proof of the vitality of Madrid noir.
Parallel activities: guided tours, conferences and workshops
The programming extends throughout the autumn months with Guided tours on Fridays and Saturdays, with prior registration through the Reservations Center. All activities are free. until full capacity and some can be followed by live broadcast.
The conference cycle includes the round table Madrid in Black Key Eduardo Bastos, Marto Relative and Rafael Guerrero (October 21); Lorenzo Silva's talk, In a place in La Mancha: the plateau roots of noir (October 28); and the meeting Female writers of crime novels Berna González Harbour, Rosa Montero and Marta Robles, moderated by Joana Bonet (November 4).
Additionally, it offers a practical writing workshop about the black genre directed by Fernando JL Monterrubio, focused on narrative techniques, plot construction and documentary research applied to fiction.
Cinema: Five adaptations to watch Madrid on screen
The film series brings together five key titles: The nail (Rafael Gil, 1944), Murder in the Central Committee (Vicente Aranda, 1981), Beltenebros (Pilar Miró, 1991), Fencing master (Pedro Olea, 1992) —with discussion and the presence of Assumpta Serna- Y The impatient alchemist (Patricia Ferreira, 2002). Screenings are free until capacity is reached.
Madrid, setting and character
The exhibition, curated by Tania Serrano BenÃtez with the advice of Lorenzo Silva, focuses on how Madrid has consolidated its role as privileged setting for noir. With pieces from public funds and external contributions, it also shows the growing reception of the genre among readers and its projection in cinema, television and festivals.
Open with free admission and complementary programming, the program invites you to explore four centuries of crime stories set in the capital, from Cervantes's origins to contemporary authors. Visitors to the Regional Library will find A walk through the dark memory of Madrid, with clues, voices and looks that have shaped the imaginary of literary crime.
