William Shakespeare has died

The eighty-one-year-old man who was the second person in the United Kingdom, and the first man, to receive the Pfizer vaccine has died. The deceased, and this is the curious thing, was named William Shakespeare. I suppose that in a family with that surname it is difficult not to fall into the temptation of baptism. I know an Amaranta Buendía and an Anna Franch, with a final ch. The latter explained to me that in her town, Valencian, the surname Franch is very common and that there are many Anas. It was a coincidence.

I suppose that if your name is William Shakespeare you get used to expecting something whenever you say your name. A knowing smile, a question or, of course, indifference: someone who says nothing at all, who doesn't look up if you tell them: "My name is William Shakespeare." In this man's case, his local councilor, a friend of his, wrote on Facebook: "I am very saddened to hear that our friend, the lovely Bill Shakespeare, has died." This very logical "Bill," given the "Shakespeare," is surprising. It's like having a Merche Rodoreda, a Micky Cervantes, or an Emi Pardo Bazán as a friend.

The fact is that the presenter of Canal 26 had to break the news live. "William Shakespeare has died!" someone from production must have shouted. And they would have told her through her earpiece. "William Shakespeare has died! Wait to say it, I'm asking for a cart of images." Because it's always better to break a breaking news story with images. And after a short while, they must have given her an "Ok" signal with their finger: "We have images!" And then, the presenter announced: "We go with information that leaves us open-mouthed at the magnitude of this man. We are talking about the death of William Shakespeare. As you know, one of the most important writers, for me, the most influential in the English language." And she added, perhaps because they were telling her through her earpiece: "He is the first man in the United Kingdom to receive the vaccine."

It's hard to know what went through his mind. If he believed that the writer William Shakespeare, the author of Hamlet, was alive until that day, how is it that he never, ever wanted to interview him or offer him work as a panelist?  When Quim Monzó and I worked on El Matí de Catalunya Ràdio, for Antoni Bassas, our main occupation was to go into his office, take the books by Rodoreda, Cervantes, Pla, Víctor Català... that he had on the shelves and dedicate them to him. "To my friend Antoni with admiration," Ausiàs March "wrote" to him, I believe. But we didn't do it with the intention of him believing it. God forbid.