This Friday, September 11, marks 25 years since the attack on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, which continues to be the deadliest attack in history, with 2,753 victims. A tragic scenario that Tania Head took advantage to tell her story as a survivor of the attack on the South Tower, where she lost her fiancé, until years later when an investigation by “The New York Times” discovered the reality.
This narrative allowed her to be named president of the 9/11 Survivors Association in New York, but, in 2007, the truth was discovered. Not only had he never been to the Twin Towers, but Tania Head did not exist. Behind this fictional character was a Catalan woman named Alicia Esteve Head.who currently resides in Barcelona.
To understand this story, it is necessary to go back to the day of the attacks, when millions of citizens from all over the world were watching television, unable to understand what was happening in one of the most important international financial centers. A confusion that, added to the tragic nature of the attack, created great expectation for the survivors.
The story of Tania Head
It was in this scenario when Alicia Esteve, a Spanish woman, saw the opportunity to provide the media with a story of survival and overcoming. She created the character of Tania Head, a victim of the South Tower attack who managed to escape from the 78th floorlosing her fiancé during the attacks. A story that emerged in a virtual forum for victims and that was sustained thanks to a combination of emotional factors and lack of verification.
To support her story, the Catalan explained that she worked at the Merrill Lynch business bank, which was located in the second tower attacked, and had studied at Harvard and Stanford universities. For its part, her fiancé, Dave, was working in the north tower and died during the first attack. This made her one of the 19 survivors of the attack.
Later, it was named president of the World Trade Center Survivors Networka mutual support association for those affected during the attacks. In it, he acted as a visible face and spokesperson for the victims, speaking to the media and attending different public events. He was performing these functions until, in 2007, “The New York Times” revealed his true identity.
The true identity of the false survivor
The investigative work carried out by the North American media revealed that there was no university record at Harvard or Stanford under the name Tania Head. Furthermore, there was no record of his presence at the Merrill Lynch bank or at any of the New York hospitals where the victims of the attacks were treated. However, there were still doubts about his true identity.
The answer came from “La Vanguardia”, whose investigation revealed that it was Alicia Esteve Head, born on July 31, 1973 in Barcelona, and whose family had been involved in the Planasdemunt case. Specifically, his father, Francisco Esteve Corbella, and his brother, Francisco Javier Esteve Head, had been convicted in 1992 for a crime of document falsification.
This is the life of Alicia Esteve Head today
Alicia was not American nor had she studied in the North American country, but rather she had studied at the University of Barcelona and developed her professional career as a secretary at the Hovisa company. In addition, During the attacks, she was enrolled in a master’s degree at ESADE of Barcelona, which he left behind when he moved to New York in June 2002.
After this scandal was uncovered, the woman from Barcelona decided to return to her hometown, where she began working in an insurance company until 2012. Later, in 2021, decided to buy a renovation company and real estate conditioning, which he continues to direct today.
However, its story continues to generate curiosity, since on August 28 it premiered the documentary “The Survivor”in which his story is narrated and how it was able to sustain itself over time is analyzed.