Manuela Malasaña: I Didn't Mean To

In today’s story, Carlota is partying with her boyfriend Lucas in Madrid’s Plaza Dos de Mayo square. Carlota loves Lucas, but sometimes he does…stuff. Stuff that pisses her off so bad, all she can see are the dark spots of irritation behind her eyes.

When she touches the iron fence around the statues of Captains Daoíz and Velarde, Carlota travels back to 1808 Spain and meets Manuela Malasaña, the 17-year-old embroiderer who died in the uprising against Napoleon’s occupying forces.

They called her a national hero.

But was she really?

And is Carlota really guilty of what happens to Lucas if she can’t see through the dark spots behind her eyes?

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1-Check out the location of Plaza Dos de Mayo here.

2-See Eugenio Álvarez Dumont’s 1887 painting of Manuela fighting alongside her father here. You can visit this painting at the Prado Museum of Madrid.

3-See the sculpture Death of Manuela Malasaña by Antonio Moltó y Lluch here. You can visit it at the History Museum of Madrid.

4-See Goya’s The 3^rd of May 1808 painting of executions ordered by Murat (at the Prado Museum) and The 2^nd of May 1808 at the Fundación Goya en Aragón (complete with Mamelukes). You can truly feel the terror.

5-Check out our website or follow Spanish Sundown on Facebook and Instagram to see original footage taken while researching and recording on-site at Plaza Dos de Mayo. Join our community!

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