Barrio de Manoteras

An urban housing estate from the late 1950s whose appearance remains unchanged.

What is now officially the neighbourhood of Apóstol Santiago, more commonly known as Manoteras, was originally an urban public housing estate whose construction began in 1957. It was built as a neighbourhood unit under the National Housing Plan for the purpose of housing a large number of immigrants from rural areas in homes that were inexpensive but better quality than the existing shanty towns that contained overspill estates and slums.

For the Manoteras estate, the aim was to integrate different social classes in the same setting, to which end various types of homes were designed. Five-storey blocks alternate with single-family homes, some of which had small rear patios. Today, this architectural contrast is still apparent in the streets Calle de las Cuevas de Almanzora, Calle de Somontín and Calle de Vélez Rubio.

The amenities in the development at the time, such as Jesús de Nazaret Parish Church, El Carmen nursery school and Plaza de la Cruz Latina shopping area, were also of a higher standard than those of other social housing estates. Green areas were added in the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Doña Guiomar Park, which connects the neighbourhood to the centre of Hortaleza, or the project to remodel the first Manoteras Park.

The neighbourhood’s expansion towards Pinar del Rey led some cheap housing estates like El Querol to be demolished as the area welcomed new residential developments and, in 2007, a metro station.

Updated: 06/05/2021