You will have heard it on multiple occasions, either in a conversation – your own or external-in the letter of a well-known La Canción or even in a podcast. We are talking about using the name ‘gato’ or ‘gata’ to refer to Madrileños and Madrileñas, an appellation that dates back to no less than the 11th century. And what is its origin?
The history
To find out why, we said, you have to travel back in time to the 11th century. Specifically until the year 1085, when the army of Alfonso VI was preparing to conquer Mayrit, at that time under Arab rule. The great wall had been built in the year 852, by order of Muhammad I.
At the gates of the wall defending the city, one of the soldiers began to climb up the wall with only the aid of a dagger. “He did it so fearlessly and so fast that they say from below he looked like a cat. Once at the top, he allowed the access of the Christian troops and changed the Moorish flag for the Christian ensign,” Luis Enrique Otero, a professor at the Complutense University of Madrid, told ICON.
For this reason, his prowess in climbing the stone wall, he was nicknamed ‘gato’ (cat). But that was only the beginning: the soldier decided to change his surname to Cat and even the family heraldry echoed the feat, as a dagger and a wall could be seen on the family crest. Over time, this name began to be used to refer to brave people, such as this soldier, and eventually the name would be extended to designate anyone born in Madrid.
However, not all people born in Madrid hold the title of ‘gato’ or ‘gata’: it is not enough to be born in the city, but it is necessary to be a third-generation Madrileño, that is, that both parents and paternal and maternal grandparents are Madrileños.
Locations in Madrid where this story can be traced
The origin of this nickname, closely linked to the city wall, is a story that can be traced in different parts of Madrid. The most obvious are those where the remains of the wall are preserved, such as the vestiges that can be seen at La Latina or in the Emir Mohamed park, at the foot of the The Almudena and which are part of these places in Madrid that do not seem to be in Madrid.
On the other hand, the Plaza de la Puerta Cerrada is also an obligatory reference, since it houses a mural with a historical motto that can be read on the facade of one of the buildings: “I was built on water, my walls are fire”. While the first part refers to the fact that, at the time, Mayrit was a land where streams and aquifers abounded, the second alludes to the sparks that could be seen at night when the arrows hit the wall.