The royal carriage stops in the middle of the parade. On both sides of the avenue, the crowd throngs, flanked by security forces, trying to prevent the mob from invading the road in their eagerness to demonstrate their loyalty and affection for their monarchs.
Suddenly , His Majesty steps out of the vehicle. With a slow but determined step, he heads toward the crowd and stops in front of a child standing in the front row of the audience. The monarch places his hand on the child’s head and affectionately ruffles his hair with his fingers. Looking into his eyes, he asks:
– What’s your name, beautiful?
– Ciprianito Albondiguilla, Your Highness. – The creature answers.
With a smile, His Majesty returns to the carriage, which continues on its way while the crowd, excited by this display of humility and close love for his subjects, shouts a “Long live the king” that makes the buildings tremble.
Back home, sitting at the table with his family, the boy tells these events to his parents and siblings:
–Then His Majesty asked me:
– What’s your name, beautiful?
– I answered him, Ciprianito Albondiguilla, your highness.
At school, his classmates surround him while he explains:
–Then His Majesty asked me:
– What’s your name, beautiful?
– I answered him, Ciprianito Albondiguilla, your highness.
The day of his marriage arrives, and at the banquet he asks to speak, and tells them:
–Then His Majesty asked me:
– What’s your name, beautiful?
–And I answered him, Ciprianito Albondiguilla, your highness .
Old age arrives, bedridden for months surrounded by his children and grandchildren who support him, waiting for the fateful outcome, he tells them for the last time:
–Then His Majesty asked me:
– What’s your name, beautiful?
–And I answered him, Ciprianito Albondiguilla, your highness.
this story of Ciprianito Albondiguilla in TBO 70 years ago, and it had such an impact on me that I have never forgotten it, marking my character, teaching me to value people for their own merits and not for the importance of the added values of the environment in which they move.
We’ve all experienced moments throughout our lives that made us feel special, important, and unique. Events that significantly shaped our boring journey along this toll road called life.
All those people who flaunt their relationships with “important” people sacrifice their own values, losing their identity and becoming anonymous. And when we call them out, we clarify:
–Yes man, Pere Puig, the one who sailed with the Infanta.
Or Josep Capella, Messi’s friend.
Or also, Ciprianito Albondiguilla, the king’s favorite.
As for me, I must say that if His Majesty Alfonso XIII had scratched my hair with his fingers, the first thing I would do when I got home would be to grab a bottle of shampoo and wash my head.
