Conceived as a “love letter to Madrid” according to its creators, Red Queen travels through a good number of neighborhoods, streets and places in the capital following the adventures of Antonia Scott (Victoria Luengo) and Hovik Keuchkerian (Jon Gutierrez). These are some of the main locations of the Prime Video series.
Madrid Center
Made up of the neighborhoods of Palacio, Universidad, Justicia, Sol, Cortes and Embajadores, this district concentrates a good part of the most traditional tradition of the capital and is one of the ones we see the most in Red Queen. Those responsible for the series looked askance at cities like New York or London so that Madrid would be a kind of “most character” within the plot.
For this reason, the exteriors combine emblems of the capital with other less known corners. And Muruzubal has also tried to show the “reverse of Madrid, side B”. Despite the undoubted influences of thriller and the film noir that we all know, the capital has its own personality and we do not see it covered in fog or under perpetual rain: because under the capital’s blue sky there is also a place for tragedy, mystery and serial killers.
Among the settings that we see in the seven episodes of Reina Roja in the center of Madrid are the Plaza de Santo Domingo, the surroundings of Plaza España with the terrace of the RIU Hotel, the Don Quixote de la Mancha monument, the Plaza de Oriente , the subway entrances Gran Via recently restored, the Plaza de Isabel II or the Cuesta de San Vicente.
Lavapiés
Special mention in Madrid Centro is the Lavapiés neighborhood which, although technically it would be part of Embajadores, is for many residents and Madrid residents a neighborhood with its own entity. Of course, it does not lack tradition and traditionalism, which makes it ideal to be the setting for filming, as we see more and more frequently in its streets.
At the beginning of the series you can see several streets and squares in the neighborhood. And Antonia Scott’s own apartment would be located in the No. 47 Olivar Street next to the Plaza de Lavapiés itself, although the portal has been recorded a little further north, on Calle del Barco de Malasaña.
Chamberi
A lot of things also happen north of Gran Vía in Red Queen, which leads us to visit another of the most famous districts of the capital. But in the case of Chamberí, in addition to taking us on a walk through streets like Monte Esquinza, north of Colón, what the series shows us are the bowels of the city, entering the subway tunnels and the Chamberí Museum station.
Although several scenes are shot on set recreating the tunnels because “the real sewers were disgusting and uncomfortable,” the Madrid underground has a great weight in the plot, especially in chapter 7 with several scenes starring the character played by Jon Gutiérrez : station tunnels appear as Novitiate, Goya or Chamartínin addition to the upper area of the station Valdeacederas near Plaza de Castilla.
Four ways
Although it has been a complete urban failure, the design of the ground floor of the AZCA complex in the Cuatro Caminos neighborhood, next to Castellana, seems to be thinking about the world of cinema, as if its manager had seen a marathon of thrillers while putting the finishing touches on his project. The concentration of more or less gloomy corners It is such that it is impossible not to walk through its nooks and crannies without thinking about murky trilogies of mysterious murders.
Red Queen Take advantage of this setting and its surroundings by watching various characters walk through the basement of the complex, as well as the neighbor Orense streetone of the most important commercial arteries on the border between Cuatro Caminos and Chamartín.
The Madrid bars and restaurants of ‘Reina Roja’
The hotel establishments that we see throughout the series deserve special mention, a key aspect in the development of the plot. And, controversies aside, it is evident that one of the most popular aspects of Madrid is its collection of bars and restaurants, so many that it is hard to believe that they can all survive.
Be that as it may, Victoria, Jon and company stop by several places that you will recognize at a glance, and some that are a little less popular. To begin with, there is no lack of San Ginés chocolate shop. Baton in hand and napkin protecting his jacket, Hovik has a conversation with Antonia.
Also more than known is the Corral de la Morería on the homonymous street in the Austrias neighborhood, as is the Modern Cafe. Of course this is not the Madrid that has “never been seen”, right?
But those responsible for Red Queen They also take us to eat at Alberto Chicote’s Omeraki restaurant in the Salamanca neighborhood and visit less photographed bars such as the Ortega in Puente de Vallecas or the Los Arcos del Mercado Cafeteria in Arganzuela.
