La movida: a chronicle of turmoil

From 1978 and for almost a decade following, Madrid was both the origin and epicentre of an upheaval. La Movida was not an artistic movement, nor did it have a political manifesto. Rather, it was an emergence; a countercultural, youthful convulsion. The ostracism and short-sightedness that characterised the dictatorship were being left behind and a restless cohort of young people was diving into life. Four photographers captured the zeitgeist like no other: Miguel Trillo, Pablo Pérez-Mínguez, Ouka Leele, and Alberto García-Alix. The impact of La Movida reverberated through all the layers of Spanish society with a creativity and visual imagery that merged with the heart of the times.