Bryan McAllister’s personal reference notebook
September 11, 2026Short & citedBlog
Civic Viewpoint.
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Kept by Bryan McAllister — short guides, clear facts, and the Canadian angle when it matters.
People File • Survivor

Tania Head

Tania Head is the alias used by Alicia Esteve Head, a Spanish woman who falsely claimed to be a survivor of the September 11 attacks in New York City.

Updated September 11, 20261 min readCited sources

She became a prominent figure in the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network before her story was exposed as a hoax in 2007.

What it is

Tania Head was a fabricated identity created by Alicia Esteve Head, a Spanish businesswoman born in 1973. Under this alias, she claimed to have survived the South Tower attack on 9/11 and rose to a leadership role in the World Trade Center Survivors’ Network, including serving as its president.

How it was exposed

In 2007, journalists uncovered inconsistencies in her story and confirmed she had been in Barcelona, Spain, on September 11, 2001. Reuters reported that she was removed from the survivors’ network board after failing to substantiate her claims. The revelation established that her entire survivor narrative was fabricated.

Aftermath

After the hoax was exposed, reports said she disappeared from public view and her exact whereabouts were not confirmed. Some later reports suggested uncertainty about her current location. The story remains a notable example of a false survivor claim in the aftermath of a major disaster.

In short

  • Tania Head was a fabricated identity used by Alicia Esteve Head.
  • She falsely claimed to have survived the South Tower attack on 9/11.
  • Her story was exposed as a hoax in 2007 after journalists found she was in Barcelona on 9/11.
  • She was removed from survivor leadership roles and then largely disappeared from public view.
Canadian angle

The story is mainly of international interest, but it is relevant to Canadian readers as part of the global public memory and media coverage of the September 11 attacks.

Quick questions

Who is Tania Head?
Tania Head is the false identity used by Alicia Esteve Head, a Spanish woman who claimed to be a survivor of the 9/11 attacks.
Tania Head story
Her story was presented as a dramatic survival account, but it was later exposed as fabricated after reporters found major inconsistencies.
What happened to Tania Head?
After her deception was exposed, she was removed from survivor leadership roles and then largely disappeared from public view; her exact whereabouts were not confirmed in the sources provided.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alicia_Esteve_Head
    Supports: Identifies Alicia Esteve Head as the real name behind Tania Head, gives birth date, nationality, and states the 9/11 survivor claim was false.
  2. NPR — https://www.npr.org/2012/04/14/149399210/the-amazing-untrue-story-of-a-sept-11-survivor
    Supports: Describes the story as a hoax and notes the real name Alicia Esteve Head.
  3. Reuters — https://www.reuters.com/article/world/september-11-survivor-story-cant-be-verified-idUSN27430335/
    Supports: Reports that her survival story could not be verified and that she was removed from the survivors' network board.
  4. Wikipedia (Spanish) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tania_Head
    Supports: States that the story was exposed in 2007 and that she was in Barcelona on September 11, 2001.