Why the world's most famous bank robbers chose city names for their secret identities

Countries & Cities · Published 29 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The iconic red jumpsuits and Salvador Dalí masks of the hit series Money Heist were designed to create a distinct visual identity. But the robbers' choice of city-based aliases was a strategic move for anonymity, later evolving to include locations that resonated with the show's massive international audience.

Created by Álex Pina and Jesús Colmenar, Money Heist—or La casa de papel—began as a passion project intended to subvert heist conventions. The series follows a mysterious figure known as the Professor, who recruits eight individuals to execute high-stakes robberies on the Royal Mint of Spain and the Bank of Spain. To maintain anonymity, the team adopts city names as code names, a stylistic choice that critics have compared to the color-based aliases in Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs.

While the initial city names were chosen at random, the production team later selected locations for new characters in part 3 based on regions where the show had achieved significant viewership resonance. This global reach was bolstered by Netflix, which acquired global streaming rights in late 2017. By 2018, the show had become the most-watched non-English-language series on the platform, finding particular success in Mediterranean Europe and Latin America.

The production design was meticulously crafted to ensure a unique aesthetic, with red serving as the primary color to stand out against gray sets. Blue, green, and yellow were strictly forbidden. The iconic masks featuring Salvador Dalí were chosen for their recognizable visage, serving as a cultural reference to Spain, though the design choice drew criticism from the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation for lack of permission. To achieve absolute film quality, the team built over 50 sets across five international locations, including filming in Panama, Thailand, Italy, Denmark, and Portugal.

The series also gained cultural significance through its use of the Italian anti-fascist song 'Bella ciao,' which became a summer hit across Europe in 2018. Beyond the original Spanish production, the franchise expanded into a shared universe, including a South Korean remake titled Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area, released in 2022, and a direct spin-off titled Berlin, released in 2023. This expansion reflects the show's evolution from a limited Spanish production into a global phenomenon.

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