Mauricio Wacquez (1939–2000): In Memoriam

11 those of us who were fortunate enough to know Mauricio Wacquez as a friend were shattered by the news of his premature death some days before the publication of Epifanfa de una sombra, the first volume of his Trifogitz dp la osnrridad. Of dazzling charm, vociferous, opinionated to the point of occasional outrageousness, argumentative, switching easily from French to Spanish and back again, extraordinarily well read in philosophy, in the Greek and Latin classics, in the whole range of Hispanic and French literature, generous to his friends, Mauricio enhanced the lives of all those allowed entry to the enchanted cultural circle centered on his house in Calaceite. Although Mauricio had the tastes of an aristocrat, economic necessity condemned him to the slavery of translation and prevented the completion of his magnum opus, the Trilogfa dt la oscuriakd, over fifteen years in the making. Behind the often extravagant pose-and Mauricio had been an actor in his youth-there lurked an extraordinarily sensitive and loving person, capable of great tenderness. Mauricio was fortunate in his stable relationship with the poet and translator Francesc Garcia; their love for each other was manifest. It is thanks to the devotion of Francesc that the manuscript of Epifnia de una sombra was preserved. Sadly, Francesc survived Mauricio by only a few hours. Elsa k a n a Freire has recalled “su irresistible atractivo como ser humano, contradictorio, vociferante, sensible y sensitivo” and also “su verbo incansable, su erudici6n enorme”. ’ Antonio Avaria has well evoked his novelesque personality: