Meet the Residents of Orcasur, Madrid's Toughest Neighborhood

FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Travel

Meet the Residents of Orcasur, Madrid's Toughest Neighborhood

Photographers Borja Larrondo and Diego Sánchez spent two years photographing the inhabitants of the social housing suburb.

This article originally appeared on VICE Spain.

Aquellos que Esperan (Those Who Wait) is the result of a two-year journey into Orcasur, southeastern Madrid's toughest suburb, by photographers Borja Larrondo and Diego Sánchez. It's an award-winning document of the region and its residents, with close attention paid to the area's solitary shopping center, which serves as a hub of obscure dealings, a convergence point for the multi-ethnic community, and a provision station for the quiet Orcasur nights.

Advertisement

This district, which is full of occupied houses and communal spaces, was established decades ago as a low income residential area. Its tower blocks stand as monuments to the Spanish social housing experiment—an experiment that, in many ways, turned into some sort of "no-go" area booming with life.

Scroll down for more photos