It’s a bear and a tree. I read somewhere it weighs about 20 tons. The motifs are on the escudo or coat of arms of Madrid, which was more recently established in 1967, although a blue and white design was approved in 2004. The tree might not be a madroño, but there seem to have been bears in the area centuries ago - as one might expect. Alfonso XI wrote: “Madrid, un buen lugar de puerco y oso”.

http://albertolevin.wordpress.com/2007/02/17/historia-del…

I like the fact that it has also been decreed that the oso (male bear) is in fact an osa (female bear):

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2007/06/13/madrid/118174807…

Not sure where to go with that discussion except that if one goes to Madrid, a visit to the Puerta del Sol or point 0 of the city is pretty much obligatory. Sol has changed over the past 20+ years. Large buildings are getting bright coats of paint, and there are more and more languages being heard that are not just the French, English or German of decades ago.

When looking at this statue, don’t forget there’s one of Carlos III in the square as well. I personally prefer the oso since nobility on horseback are a dime a dozen in Spain and there are few bears and even fewer madroños (or whatever you suppose the tree to be). An adjective used to describe the center is “bustling”. With all due respect, I’d call it crazy and rush across the main streets as quickly as possible to find some respite on a side alley from the noise pollution. It may be my imagination, but Madrid seems busier, a bit more polluted and dangerous than some other major European capitals. This is not meant to offend the gatos (natives of Madrid are called cats, yes) and may be a reflection of the traumatizing experience of being robbed in the Wendy’s in Sol years ago. Never got over that, nor did I get over the fact that the police, when hearing about the robbery, said, yes, that’s a ring operating here. Under their noses, but…

This is the bear and the strawberry tree, you meet people here. 'We’ll meet at the bear’ you say and everyone knows you mean the bear statue in Sol. There are some fantastic buskers round here, in fact all the buskers in Madrid were great, but a trio really stood out. One plays bass, and the other two harmonise on large ancient zithers struck with what can only be described as padded back scratchers, but their arms move at about a thousand miles an hour in perfect unison, and the music produced sounds like you’ve been transported into some mad 60s spy movie.
The main shopping streets lead off Sol, and the main prostitution streets, and don’t get the two confused. Loads and loads of prostitutes everywhere you go in Madrid, some quite aggressive. But apparently it’s much better than it used to be (!) El Corte Ingles, the huge department store, is a good place to shop, but not as cheap as Dia. Don’t drink in the bars round Sol either, they’re all too touristy and expensive. Do like the Spaniards, buy your booze in a supermercado then mix it in your hotel room. Drinking outside was ercently banned but you wouldn’t know it walking round Plaza Santa Anna after midnight.

Emblema de Madrid. según wikipedia: “El oso figura por los muchos que hubo en tiempos lejanos.

El madroño resulta de los pleitos entre el Cabildo y el Ayuntamiento por la propiedad de los montes y los pastos, llegando a un acuerdo que los pastos serían propiedad del primero y los árboles del segundo.”

En la acera de enfrente está el kilómetro cero, de donde parten todas las carreteras de España cuando España era radial en carreteras y en pensamiento. ¿Quién no tiene una foto pisando el km cero?