Hello dear reader,
This has always been a work related blog, a place where I would tell you what I was doing and analyse tech news and trends. I intent to keep it that way, but today I would like to make a very special exception. I would love to tell you about the greatest man I ever knew, someone who has inspired me beyond time to become the person I am today. If I am able to do what I do, it has been greatly because of him.
His name was Luis Pérez Lozano, today would have been his birthday. He would have been 96 years old, unfortunately, he passed away five years ago. He was born in a different world back in the 26th of march 1923. A world that had little in common with this one. He started of as a teenager in a senseless war, taking water to the army, where he was shot in a leg. But that didn’t stop him from making his dream come true, flying. He became one of the best pilots in flight without an engine. Luis, or Chato as I called him, felt that the true way to fly was without technology, in fact, he was one of the first pilots to do so Spain, number 36 as you can see in his license below.
That is why I love paragliding and intent to do it more, because it helps me fell closer to him. He continued flying until he had a terrible accident, he broke his arms and legs and felt that it was time for a change. So he become a psychologist when Psychology did not exist as a degree, spearheading a new trend in human resources. He worked hand in hand with one of the most renown psychologists, Yela, calibrating machines that could understand and measure anxiety and detect possible psychological trends in a person. His career eventually led him to Talbot, the precursor of Peugeot in Spain, where he became the person who popularised the brand, taking the leading company that sold them in Spain to the highest position. Making Peugeot the powerhouse it now is in Spain.
I still like to imagine him working there when I have to take my car (a Peugeot of course) to be serviced at his old offices. He was a man who sought his dreams, adapted and always strove to be better. He was always impeccably dressed, in fact I’m afraid my tendency of wearing Batman t-shirts would strike him a bit unusual ;), and with the style of a true gentleman. We used to dream about having an Aston Martin together, as he always said they were the most stylish cars in the world, the ones James Bond chose.
People remember him as a man who went as far as dreams could go, for me, he was the closest I would ever have to a father. He was a kind soul who I miss every day, a person who spoke few words, but was able to convey so much with just a look.
You can check out some of my favourite pics below.
After watching Coco from Disney, I can only hope that if I remember him he will live forever. But I fear that someday I won’t be able to, so this is my heritage, my way of telling you who he was, in my hope that you may remember him too. Someone as great as him cannot be forgotten. If I ever become 10% of the man he was, I will consider my life a rousing success.
Thank you my dearest friend for everything, I miss you every day. I just hope that I can make you as proud of myself as I have always been of you. Good night Chato
Thank you for reading.
Pablo Clemente Pérez 