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Nickname’s origins: “Pechito” López

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An old discussion held by his father, gave birth to a particular nickname on one of the Season 3 newcomers: recently WTCC crowned champion José María “Pechito” López.

Argentina is a country in which sports are part of culture. Football, at the very top (a Boca Juniors vs River Plate derby at “La Bombonera” and the passion it carries can turn into a life experience, apart from Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi), and motorsports, are among the most popular.

Motorsport has always been behind football in Argentina, despite having lost terrain against tennis or basketball, just after its famous “Generación Dorada” (“Golden generation”) squad that won the gold medal at 2004 Olympics (widely regarded in Argentina as the best national team the country ever had in any sport), with a group of brilliant players, who at the same time were close friends and true sportsmen.

These, and all others sports, have a common and famous word often quoted when fans criticise: “Pecho frío”.

“Pecho frío” would be translated into “cold chest”. It’s used in Argentina to refer to the athlete or player who tends to get inhibited or scared in important moments, like final matches, or when the time comes to ensure a win. To “Pechear”, became an informal, unrecognized, but frequent verb in Argentina. And “Pecho frío” is now part of culture in Argentina, used informally in any kind of conversations.

Back in 80s, José María López, from Córdoba city, took part in some regional races, and after a race had a big discussion, yelled at his opponents: “¡Ustedes son unos pecho frío!” (“You’re all cold-chest!”). From there on, he became José María “Pecho” López. After his marriage with Mabel Vecchio, a woman who was from Córdoba too, in 1983 they gave birth to a boy who was also named José María López.

Argentina’s language is Spanish, which considers the “-ito” suffix as a diminutive. As such, when José María López initiated his racing career, he started to be known as “Pechito”. Naturally, the son of “Pecho”.

One of the most famous touring car drivers from 1980s and 1990s in Argentina was Osvaldo “Cocho” López, whos son Juan Manuel was nicknamed “Cochito”. This last one, later became a GT driver in Europe, and has taken a brief test in Formula E after the first Punta del Este ePrix. Confusions were too often between both Juan Manuel and José María, who have no family relationship, but were born in the same year.

After Pechito became a rising star in Argentina and budget issues forced him back to his country when he was on his way to F1, his nickname became too popular. Once, he stated “I’m much more know by ‘Pechito’ López than by my full name”.

Strange, since “cold chest” has nothing to do with him, proven by his success and also his agressive driving style. But he’s taken the nickname as part of him, even in his Twitter account @pechito37, which also includes the number with which he started in karting.

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Image courtesy of Rajan Jangda

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