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The last stop in my research on the life of the Spanish Civil War poet Miguel Hernandez was Jaen in Andalucia, a three-hour car ride from Orihuela.

Andalucia sounds like the home of the Andals of Westeros (e.g. Jorah the Andal); the name is believed to have been derived from Vandals, some of the Goths who took over the Roman Empire (I imagine them doing this to the music of Siouxsie and the Banshees or Sisters of Mercy).

In 90s Filipino gayspeak, Andalucia—anda for short—means money. (“Wala akong anda.”) Must find out how that happened. I associate Andalucia with Un Chien Andalou, the film by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali, with the memorable razor blade in eyeball scene.

The papers and personal effects of Miguel Hernandez are kept in a vault at the Diputacion de Jaen. The architecture of this public building recalls the area’s Moorish past.

This is the Spain I had expected from Bunuel movies: arid, rocky, desert-like. Everyone I met gleefully informed me that there are 69 million olive trees in Jaen. The temperature is in the low 20s Celsius, but when I step into the blazing noonday sunshine I feel like I’m being photocopied.

My research is done. On to Madrid! Never thought I’d miss being in a big, noisy city.

Our Bibliophibians reading group meets every month at Tin-Aw Art Gallery, Somerset Olympia, Makati Avenue beside the Peninsula Manila. Everyone who’s read the chosen book is welcome. The discussion starts at 4pm, followed by refreshments and chika. Our fabulous host is Dawn Atienza.

Our past selections have been Dune by Frank Herbert (before the new Denis Villeneuve adaptation with the dream cast headed by Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides was announced); First Love, Last Rites by Ian McEwan; Don’t Look Now and other stories by Daphne DuMaurier; The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro; Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata; Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger; and The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. For July, we are tackling Madeline Miller’s new novel, Circe.

Intoxicating and deeply moving, Circe is a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey from the POV of one of its very few—and demonized—female characters. In the Odyssey, Circe is a witch who turns Odysseus’s crew into pigs because women living alone have to be evil. Then she seduces Odysseus because women are supposed to fall all over the hero. Miller reclaims Circe’s story and gives it a contemporary spin. It’s still set in ancient times, Circe is still the daughter of a Titan, she still has powers and has a thing for Odysseus. But she’s now a complex and recognizably human character who stands by her own choices and refuses to be controlled by men.

Personally, I think the story of how she ends up on that island is even more interesting than the romantic bits. Apart from Odysseus, the Olympian gods Hermes, Apollo and Athena turn up, and the genius Daedalus, and Circe’s relatives including the Minotaur and Medea.

Our reading group discussion of Circe is on 27 July, Saturday, 4pm at Tin-Aw.

I am writing an essay on the poet Miguel Hernandez for a book that is being produced by Instituto Cervantes Manila. My research begins in Hernandez’s hometown of Orihuela in the Valencia region. (Valencia as in oranges and Arroz a la Valenciana.)

In Plaza Ramon Sije in the old town, there is a palace for sale for 4 million euros. I don’t know how many rooms it has, but there are 14 bathrooms. If they threw in a noble title like Marques de Orihuela, I’m sure it would sell faster.

Calle Mayor, the main street of the old town, at rush hour. Temperatures in the 30s Celsius, blazing sunshine. Now I know why siesta was invented.

This is the house where Miguel Hernandez grew up.

The Episcopal Palace has been turned into a Museum of the Sacred Arts. The star of the collection: The Temptation of Saint Thomas Aquinas by Diego Velasquez.

One of the social events of the season is the First Communion of schoolchildren. There are white outfits for the children, after-parties, costumed bands.

Of course the food is marvelous. After a two and a half hour book launch involving a flamenco singer, a children’s orchestra, and some rather overwrought dramatic readings, we had dinner at The Agus gastrobar.

And a walk around the city, which centuries ago was part of a Moorish kingdom.

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The new Nexus Center, so new it hasn’t been inaugurated yet, is at 1010 Metropolitan Avenue, San Antonio, Makati.

I gave a talk at Espazo BenComun in Allariz, a beautiful town in Ourense (1hr10 by train from La Coruña). “Beautiful” is not an exaggeration—Allariz has actually been given the title by international agencies for revitalization and sustainable management. The population of Allariz is 7,000 (times three in the summer when tourists and people with summer houses visit). That’s about the number of people in the queue at the bank back home on Monday mornings.

My hosts own independent bookstores such as Libraria Aira das Letras, which carries their self-produced line of steampunk-themed notebooks, bookmarks and puzzles.

The Vilanova bridge over the Arnoia river dates back to the Middle Ages. (I learned that medieval bridges have a hump in the middle.)

My guides took me on a hike in Santa Mariña de Aguas Santas and the Castro in Armea, site of an archaelogical dig that has turned up a Roman hill fort.

The unfinished church is supposed to have been built over the furnace where Mariña survived burning (like Daenerys Targaryen).

The remnants of the Roman hill fort.

Afterwards, an excellent lunch at Casa Pepiñas, including breaded shrimp on skewers.

The annual international garden competition is on from May to October. The theme is Cinema. This garden replicates the house in Jacques Tati’s Mon Oncle.

If La Coruña is King’s Landing, Allariz is a prettier Winterfell without White Walkers.

Our next Reading Group Discussion will be held on Saturday, 15 June 2019, 4-6pm at Tin-Aw Art Gallery, Ground floor Somerset Olympia (across the hall from Old Swiss Inn), Makati Avenue beside the Peninsula Manila. Everyone who’s read the Bulgakov is welcome.