¡Madrid, Madrid! qué bien tu nombre suena,
rompeolas de todas las Españas!
La tierra se desgarra, el cielo truena,
tú sonríes con plomo en las entrañas.

Antonio Machado (1875 – 1939) (Madrid, 7 de noviembre de 1936)

Madrid ! Madrid How good sounds your name
Breakwater of all the Spains!
Earth is torn apart, thunders strike,
While you smile, bullet-riddled

Written in Madrid on November 7, 1936 by poet Antonio Machado (1875 – 1939) (free translation)

The way the Spanish say ¡Madrid! (Castilians pronounce it Madriss) gives it lightning, strength and character. The name has teeth. Madrid might have been a Roman city named Mater Deus (Mother of God) that would become Madre de Dios in Spanish, then Madrid by contraction. But the city was actually founded in the 9^th century by the Umayyad Emir of Cordoba, and the Arab name Mâjrit  might also be another base for Madrid.

The first diptyque boutique in Spain will open its doors this month Calle Claudio Coello, 85, 28001 Madrid.