Madrid Metro Railway authority has hired ‘pushers’ to cope with increased number of railway passengers during rush hours. A ‘pusher’ happens to be a worker, who pushes people into railway coaches at any railway station during morning and evening rush hours, to ensure stations do not get overcrowded, leading to a stampede. Incidentally, the idea of pushing passengers into coaches originated in New York. The practice is still in force and is frequently used at the New York subway, just like it is done in Madrid and even in China. If any passenger happens to take a flight from Madrid to New York and avails of the city’s metro link from any crowded platform, there is a possibility of him being pushed into the coaches by professional ‘pushers.’
When Line 8, which connects Madrid–Barajas airport to the city center, was temporarily closed due to maintenance work, there was a surge of passengers on other lines that led the authorities to use ‘pushers’ to manage crowds. In Spanish, subway pushers are called empujadores, as they help passengers embark from coaches and make sure carriage doors are properly closed.
A New York Times article dated August 8, 1918, mentions subway guards and police trying to direct and push crowds into trains, operating along the new 42nd Street Shuttle service between Times Square and Grand Central. By 1920s, pushers in the New York City subway were known worldwide, but were not well-liked. Thus, they gained a notorious reputation and were called ‘sardine packers.’
Raúl González Blanco, popularly called Raúl, is a retired Spanish striker. He is often regarded as one of the greatest Spanish soccer players of all time and was an asset to Real Madrid, the Spanish club he represented. He returned to professional football in 2014 and signed with an American club, named New York Cosmos of USA. Raúl made his North American Soccer League debut at the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, partially owned by Ronaldo, his former Real Madrid strike partner.
Like Raúl, Albert Celades López is another retired Spanish footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and joined as the manager of the Spanish under-21 soccer team. He was also a member of the Real Madrid team, but later took a flight from Madrid to New York, to play in the Major League Soccer for his club, the New York Red Bulls.
Meanwhile, Sonia Bermúdez Tribano of the Spanish Women’s National Football team who plays as a forward for her club Atlético Madrid has also represented American soccer clubs. With previous passages for Rayo Vallecano and FC Barcelona, Sonia played for National Women’s Soccer League club Western New York Flash. It is a professional women’s soccer league, run by the United States Soccer Federation. This female footballer also won the Spanish Women’s Primera División for seven consecutive times.
Pedro Cuni-Bravo is a Madrid born Spanish artist settled in New York. He specializes in murals, portraits, encaustic and oil paintings. He also teaches at Parsons and Cooper Union, architectural colleges under New York City University. Pedro’s arts exhibitions are frequently held in both Madrid and New York City, for which he often takes a flight from Madrid to New York. His work experiences revolve around these two cities.
El País is the largest circulated daily newspaper of Spain and considered as one of the frontrunners among the three Madrid national newspapers, along with El Mundo and ABC. This media house is headquartered in Madrid and owned by Spanish media conglomerate Promotora de Informaciones or PRISA.
Their central editorial staff team is based in Madrid and often employees took a flight from Madrid to New York, when the company started an English print edition in 2001. It was available as a supplement with The International Herald Tribune, also known as The International New York Times. In 2014, the print edition was replaced by a 100% digital project.
How a visual artist from Madrid settled in New York
Gladys Triana is a Cuban-American visual artist whose career has spanned nearly six decades and includes work on paper, paintings, sculpture, mixed-media collage, installations, and photography. Triana left Cuba and lived in Madrid for five years, studying printmaking at the San Fernando University.
In 1974, she was invited to exhibit her work at Sarduy Gallery in New York City. Later, she took a flight from Madrid to New York again in 1975 to settle and work in USA. Triana holds various exhibitions both in Madrid and New York. Both New York and Madrid are sister cities, though there are not enough official documents to highlight the areas where the two cities worked together.