Madrid, 28 March 2025. The documentary series Huellas en la Tierra launches its third season, in which journalists Marta Fernández and Pablo Maderuelo travel through ten municipalities in the Community of Madrid to meet 18 people whose stories reveal the rural reality that also forms part of this region.
After its journey through Castile and León and Aragon, Huellas en la Tierra continues across Madrid in three new episodes, supported by the regional government through the Directorate-General for Territorial Rebalancing.
Madrid-born journalist Marta Fernández believes the series “shows that other Madrid, the one that’s always there—beyond weekend getaways—and is increasingly becoming a source of entrepreneurship and employment.” For Pablo Maderuelo, “every region has its own rural heartland, and each has a different potential.” “It must be explored and, once discovered, shared with others so it can act as a lever for rural growth,” he adds.
According to Miguel Ángel García Martín, the region’s Minister for the Presidency, Justice and Local Administration, “the villages of the region are growing in population, even the smallest ones,” a clear sign of the work being done to promote territorial balance through programmes such as Pueblos con Vida. This initiative includes 13 measures designed to revitalise municipalities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, aiming to stabilise and attract population, foster economic and tourism development, and strengthen public services.
The premiere, attended by representatives from Vivaces and numerous mayors from across the Community of Madrid, marks the start of a series of screenings that will take place throughout the region in the coming weeks.
Each event will feature one of the episodes followed by a discussion on the themes it raises.
Like the two previous seasons, Huellas en la Tierra Madrid is now available in full on Prime Video, where viewers can watch all three seasons. It is also available on PlayMad, the Community of Madrid’s own streaming platform.
To coincide with the release, Vivaces’ podcast La España Medio Llena has launched a special three-episode series featuring all the protagonists from the audiovisual instalments. The podcast currently has over 2,000 subscribers and more than 130,000 downloads.
Additionally, Vivaces will grant screening rights to any organisation in Madrid that wishes to show the series on their premises and help spread awareness of the region’s rural reality.
About the Series
Marta and Pablo venture into the lesser-known side of Madrid to uncover its rural, agricultural, and natural wealth. Along the way, they meet people who have transformed their lives and communities—from a livestock-farming mayor and entrepreneurs reviving villages, to farmers, chefs, and advocates of sustainable tourism. Across three episodes, they explore local initiatives that celebrate gastronomy, agricultural innovation, and rural tourism, offering a vibrant and surprising portrait of the Community of Madrid beyond the capital.
The first episode, Madrid Is Rural Too, is set entirely in Madarcos, a village of just 69 residents. The second, The Most Madrilenian Legume, visits Villa del Prado, Quijorna, Aranjuez, and Alalpardo to showcase the region’s agricultural potential. The third, From Sol to the Moon, travels through Rascafría, the Lozoya Valley, Hoyo de Manzanares, and Oteruelo del Valle, highlighting tourism that moves beyond the capital into rural areas.
About Vivaces
Vivaces is Spain’s first private-sector alliance aimed at showcasing the potential of rural areas. Its work is structured around three main areas: generating knowledge, sharing social innovation initiatives, and fostering spaces for dialogue and debate.
More than a dozen companies are part of this initiative, including Amazon, Endesa, Bayer, Danone, Grünenthal, BlaBlaCar, Booking.com, SiteGround, Nickel, EY, and Harmon. It also counts on EFE as its media partner, and on Foro NESI, IDEL, SECOT, TuTecho, Néxodos, Mayumaná, and IVS as collaborating partners.
