The kiss of the oceans
by Oscar Mijallo
An unforgettable novel about the most epic expedition in history: Magellan and Elcano’s trip around the world, through the eyes of a cabin boy
The Kiss of the Oceans tells the story of Juan de Santander, a Cantabrian boy who, at the age of twelve or thirteen, enlists in the expedition of Magellan and Elcano, an adventure that more than 250 men began and only he and 17 other sailors finished. . The boy will learn from the overwhelming personality of Admiral Ferdinand Magellan, from the audacity of Juan Sebastián Elcano, from the courage of Gonzalo Gómez de Espinosa and will be immersed in the struggles between Portuguese and Castilian sailors to take command of the expedition. His experiences and those of Aldara, the girl thanks to whom he manages to enroll in the expedition and who will be immersed in a plot of corruption and murder in Seville at the beginning of the 16th century, merge in the pages of this exciting story. . After their respective journeys, both will reach adulthood and experience hardships, but they will also discover love and friendship.
All this, against the backdrop of the confrontations between the great maritime powers of the time: Castile and Portugal, which struggled to dominate the trade routes for spices, which in the 16th century were more valuable than gold or silver; between Charles I of Spain and Francis I of France for obtaining the favor of Pope Leo The new World. Terrible fights between the most powerful that ended up dragging down the most humble.
The Kiss of the Oceans is an unforgettable story of mutinies on board, desertions, betrayals, discoveries, murders and, above all, survival and improvement.
Óscar Mijallo (Arenas de San Pedro, Ávila, 1972) has a degree in Journalism and a Master in International Relations and Communication and a war correspondent for TVE. He was the first special envoy of the public broadcaster to the war in Ukraine. He has also covered the battle for Mosul against the Islamic State and the wars in Syria, Libya, Mali, Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, Gaza and the Second Intifada. As a correspondent in the Middle East he has reported on the Arab Spring in different countries, such as Egypt or Western Sahara and the situation in Turkey or Iran. In Latin America he has directed the RTVE office in Bogotá, from where he has reported from Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Panama and Chile. Together with the actress Carmen Climent (Cuéntame), she was the image of the Objective RTVE campaign in defense of the rights of girls: at that time she was on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan during the country’s fall into the hands of the Taliban in August-September 2021. He is the author of “The Doctor of Mosul”, “The Girl at the Gates of Hell” and “The Kiss of the Oceans”, his third novel.
Source: https://algunoslibrosbuenos.com/el-beso-de-los-oceanos
