Written by Camilo Monzani, edited by Apostolos Papageorgiou
Matias Emilio Márquez, a 14 year old kid from Michoacán, Mexico, didn't care about Formula 1 until around 2 years ago. That's when he started growing an interest in the sport, and, probably motivated by his country, became a Sergio “Checo” Perez fan. He has already experienced many great and bad races by Checo, but his love for him doesn't stick to F1. He says Pérez is a benchmark for his sporting values because "he never gives up," he explained.
"Checo, I really admire your way of being and your efforts. I admire how you are. I see that you are humble, you are not like other athletes who are mean towards their fans (…) Like all Mexicans, I want Checo to win and I have hope”.
The attempt to make it to the Mexican GP
After Perez’s retirement in Austria, a post on Facebook went viral. The publisher was Elsa Zepeda, Matías´ cousin, the post said:
“Les platico que mi querido Mati está vendiendo botanitas para financiar su boleto de F1. La neta estoy muy orgullosa porque no es el primer trabajo que tiene (...) Así que por favor, si pasan, están cerca o quieren una botana y ayudar a mi primo, ya saben dónde”
Translation:
“I want to tell you that my dear Mati is selling snacks to finance his F1 ticket. I am very proud of him because it is not the first job that he has (...) So please, if you pass by, are nearby or want a snack and help my cousin, you know where.”
According to Elsa, Matias has been saving his allowance since last year, and according to what Matías said in an interview, more and more people have gone to buy snacks from him and help him to be able to meet Checo. Truth is, it won't be easy for him to do it because the tickets for the GP are somewhere between MXN$ 1500 and MXN$ 25000, the average being around MXN$ 7000. Those are a lot of $15 snacks. Maybe if someone close to Perez could help him…
The meeting with Checo's dad
After the popularity he achieved in all kinds of media, Antonio Pérez Garibay, Checo's father, contacted the young entrepreneur and they were able to meet past Thursday July 14th in the capital. Where, according to the social media of the federal deputy, they agreed to help fulfill his dream.
We hope Matias will be able to reach his dream.