San Juan de Puerto Rico, fall of 1520. Juan Ponce de León, conquistador and first governor of the island, plans his second voyage to Florida, discovered and named by him seven years previously. Officially, his aim is to found the first city in this territory, of which the Spanish Crown has appointed him as its Adelantado, with powers that would make him in the first European to politically govern at his destination. But, secretly, at the same time, he is also planning to reach the Fountain of Eternal Youth, taking advantage of the information that he has accumulated after his conversations with several native caciques on his travels through the Caribbean archipelago. However, the objective that he decides upon when reaching it, and the motives that drive him, would surprise anyone.Ponce intuitively knows that this could be his last voyage. And among the other consequential decisions, he puts his personal papers in order, with which he would be able to rebuild the altarpiece of his life, the last panel of which would be precisely that voyage he is about to undertake. As he does so, his life appears before him, at its most significant moments, but also interwoven with the history of Spain (and that of the Americas), captured during a transcendental period and including some of the most intimate and unknown moments. All of this is a result of having been close to the main characters, starting with the Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabel, from when he escorted them as a very young pageboy when they exchanged their marriage vows in secret whilst persecuted within Castile, something they never forgot and endeavoured to grant him a very special treatment, particularly during the most difficult personal and political times of his life.
About the Author: Enrique Sánchez Goyanes obtained a Doctorate in Law at the Autonomous University of Madrid and expanded his train-ing with several years of studies in History, Literature, Social Sciences and Art in institutions of higher education in Cam-bridge, Paris and Florence. In 1979, he published his "Constitución Española comentada", an informative text on the fundamental rights of citizens that would become the most republished in the field, and the first of nearly 60 books of which he has been author or co-author, mainly in various sectors of Public Law. He has lectured at various American and Spanish universities for more than twenty years, having favored the implementation of teaching on legal techniques for sustainable development in Ibero-American centers, within the framework of training programs designed by himself. Along with his activities, has received several acknowl-edgements in the Americas (Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Dominican Republic...) and in Spain, in particular the Fernando Albi National Award for his contribution to the study of the Spanish Administration. For the last few decades, he has practiced as a lawyer and legal consultant, both inside and outside of Spain, having been voted by his colleagues in specialist publications as one of the "Best Lawyers" in Spain in his specialty. His profession has provided him access to all kinds of an-cient manuscripts lost in the files of local councils, convents, churches and various other public and private entities, with which he has been able to faithfully recreate, in the Altarpiece of Ponce de Leon, the man and his time, within the various periods that shaped the personality of the discoverer, from the stormy Castile to the beautiful Florida, in a work where essay and historical novel converge, leaving no room for imaginary scenes or historical errors. Passionate about History and Art, a tireless devotee and traveler around the New World, a sponsor of artists and exhibitions in both Spain and America, Sánchez Goyanes pays homage to the man who, in his time, imagined and pacifically fought to achieve an authentic alliance between cultures and religions, and who is still honored today for both his vision as well as the protection he always provided to the first settlers of America, which on occasions was contrary to the orders received.