“Every Corner Of The City Has Somewhere I’ve Experienced Very Important Things”: Itzan Escamilla Guides Us Through His Madrid Coordinates

From the neighbourhood that raised him to the theatre he loves, as Elite‘s Itzan Escamilla returns to the stage in The Effect, he maps out the places that define his Madrid.

An inescapable face among his generation of Spanish television stars, Itzan Escamilla rose to international stardom as Samuel García in Elite, the global Netflix phenomenon that catapulted him from Madrid native to worldwide recognition. However, when we meet in late March, over Zoom, the 28-year-old actor is turning his attention back to the stage, nine years since his last theatre turn in Los Universos Paralelos. Lucy Prebble’s The Effect is the story to bring him back face-to-face with an audience – the Olivier-nominated romance debuted at London’s National Theatre in 2012, before making its way to New York, and now, Escamilla’s sold-out run at Teatros del Canal. 

But for all the international profile Escamillia enjoys these days, at heart, he remains profoundly connected to the city that raised him. Rooted in nostalgia, his connection to Madrid is defined by his own memories, “Every corner of the city has somewhere I have been to, where I’ve experienced very important things,” he reflects. 

Raised in Hortaleza by his mum and grandparents, Escamilla’s earliest sense of Madrid is grounded in that tree-lined residential neighbourhood, northeast of the city. Though he now lives in the city centre, he says “[Hortaleza] is still the place that comes to my mind when I think of Madrid.”

As the Spanish saying goes, being from Madrid is more of a lifestyle than a birthplace. For Escamilla, that identity is shaped by the capital’s constant mix of cultures, which makes its people open and welcoming. “Madrid has something very positive,” he explains. “It’s a very cultural city, but it’s also a transit city for many. Most people here aren’t originally from Madrid, but they are Madrileños. I feel quite Madrileño, in character too,” he adds. 

There’s a pride to it, what he describes as a certain “chulería” – a confidence or directness that occasionally needs reining in. “The city is frenetic, always changing,” he says. “People here make the most of things while they can, enjoying places, moments. That effervescence is imprinted on the character of the city, and on mine too.”

Like many actors navigating fame, Escamilla’s world has expanded rapidly. Yet Madrid, his neighbourhood, and his grandparents’ house remain a constant. As he takes Man About Town through the locations that have shaped him, it becomes clear that this is not simply a guide to the city, but a portrait of his own identity.

Plaza Skate Hortaleza [40° 28.42296′ N 3° 38.87004′ W]

I skated as a kid until I was 15 or 16. And I became less consistent from there. But I have been a skater since forever. And the skate park in Hortaleza was the town square where I grew up and where I skated, but at the same time, where I admired. It is a place where I observed older guys, because I wanted to be like them, and where I admired the fashion, smoked my first cigarettes, caused mischief, and entered adolescence. It is a place where many things would happen as I was growing up. There was a bit of danger, too, because it is not an easy area either, and it was fascinating. 

Parque Pinar del Rey [40° 27.8499′ N 3° 39.3439′ W]

I grew up in the outskirts of the city, surrounded by pine forests, and in one of these pine-filled areas that collide with the M30 highway, there is a place with this sort of bench – a structure made of cement and ridges – between the trees where we would do graffiti and hang out. I would go with my friends, and this was the place where we had our first philosophical thoughts, and where we started asking each other deeper questions as we became young adults. It was nice because you could hear the cars passing by the M30, the noise, the honking. It is close to the house I grew up in, and it’s magical. 

Grandparents’ House [?° ?′ N ?° ?′ W]

My grandparents’ house is the place where I feel like I am from. Or the place where I would want to end up. This would be that place for me. It’s an emblem of my life, and it’s where I grew up, because my mother had me when she was very young, and even after my mum and I moved out, this was still my house, and that area was my area. Whatever happens, even as the years pass, that is still my home. I have a very special bond with my grandparents and my uncles. It was as if I were the youngest sibling to them. I celebrated all my birthdays there, always on Halloween, and invited all my friends. It’s a place that I will always be attached to, in one way or another. I believe I have a magnet inside of me that pulls me to this place. 

Itzan’s Apartment [?° ?′ N ?° ?′ W]

My flat still doesn’t feel like a home; I am not there yet. But I am trying to create a living space that will feel interesting to live in, and where I will be able to watch loads of films. For now, that’s enough for me. I am trying to create a living space that feels stimulating. I don’t feel the need to create a home, but I like the feeling of inhabiting a space with objects that I find interesting. For me, that is enough for now. In the living room, I spend most of my time watching films or writing. 

Teatro Español [40° 24.9080′ N 3° 42.0141′ W]

The first time I performed at a theatre, it was at this one, Teatro Español, and I remember it as a moment of pure innocence, both creatively and personally. That square [outside the theatre] and the theatre are places in which I have been so happy. I also think of them as an emblem.