María’s grandson was back in town this weekend, and everyone came to say hello. They waited for his bus to arrive and stood waving when it left again. They sang his name and held signs welcoming him home. They held cameras and things to sign; most of all, they held him and close. Girona’s coach now, he had come to defeat them, they knew, but Miguel Ángel Sánchez Muñoz could never hurt them, even if he won. Especially if he won. They call him Míchel I of Vallecas, son of Benjamin, Candela and the streets of this self-declared Independent People’s Republic east of Madrid, and…
