La Tabacalera to reopen in Madrid following rehabilitation

The La Tabacalera social center in Madrid is set to resume cultural and community activities after a three year closure for renovation works. An agreement signed between Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun and representatives of the Self-Managed Social Center (CSA) La Tabacalera grants the collective use of two warehouses totaling 800 square meters for an initial four year period, with the possibility of a four year extension.

The project aims to restore workshops, urban gardens, and free cultural activities that defined the space for over a decade. However, the agreement has faced criticism from the Regional Federation of Neighborhood Associations of Madrid (FRAVM), which argued that the deal was reached without involving all local entities. The FRAVM suggested that one warehouse be dedicated to the CSA while the other serve as a community facility open to all neighborhood, social, and cultural associations in Lavapiés.

Originally built between 1780 and 1792 as a major tobacco factory, the building holds significant historical weight, having employed thousands of women known as cigarreras who were central to early labor and union movements in the capital.