Centro Cultural Candelaria de los Patos

What it is. A community cultural centre in the Candelaria de los Patos housing estate, on the eastern edge of the Historic Centre beside La Merced. It belongs to the neighbourhood rather than to the tourist circuit: workshops, classes and local events for the people who live in the estate and the barrio around it.

The place and its name. Candelaria de los Patos —"Candelaria of the ducks"— remembers what this ground was: the eastern shore of the lake, where ducks were caught and sold, and later one of the poorest and most densely built quarters of the city. The housing estate replaced that in the twentieth century, and the cultural centre is part of the effort to give it public space.

Practical notes. Programming is local and not published far in advance, so phone the number listed to ask what is on before making the trip. Candelaria station, where metro Lines 1 and 4 meet, is at the door. As elsewhere in the Merced area, visit in daylight and travel light.