Santiago “Lolo” Garetto (60) is the owner of Mechanics SG-Chubut 1405-has been in the profession for more than 40 years and like any good mechanic, he is passionate about iron and his relationship with the world of automotive mechanics began when he was little, almost like a game, “getting his hands” on his motorcycle or car. father -Santiago-.
On February 24, the Mechanic’s Day in Argentina and “Lolo” told the story of its beginnings and its current situation to The newspaper. “Mechanics my age start out bothering the workshops, first playing with the motorcycle, getting hands-on, and then we accompany that passion with study,” says Garetto in the waiting room of his workshop, a space set up by the mechanic himself to chat with clients and friends.
“Lolo” completed his secondary studies at IPET No. 50, “Emilio F. Olmos”, where he acquired knowledge and skills that led him to embrace mechanics as a passion that he still keeps alive.
He was also fortunate that his father, a metallurgist by profession, instilled in him the value of work and awakened his curiosity about different forms of entrepreneurship: “At home there were many machines, so I was able to learn how to work with metal, how to weld, and so on. Mixed with the mechanics I liked it. I was lucky to have a father who gave me all the possibilities and let me help me learn how to work. Poor thing, now I start thinking about the trouble I may have left for him,” he says with a smile.
And he added: “My job is pure passion and if you don’t have it you can’t do it. That leads you to do incredible things, to investigate, to screw up and try again.”
From employee to opening his workshop
After venturing into electronics studies, Santiago had the opportunity to join the Volkswagen company as a mechanic, until he became a workshop manager. However, his desire to advance led him to open his own store, with the unconditional support of his wife, Monica.
“It was a time when I had a lot of work outside, I said enough and started my own workshop. My wife accompanied me a lot. She left things aside to accompany me, to buy tools, it was a terrible sacrifice. But I’m not complaining, because by always working and betting we were able to grow. I repeat, if you don’t put passion into mechanics, you won’t get anywhere. It is passion, investigating, bothering, asking, buying information, reading, taking courses; And the beauty of all this and what I am grateful for, is that I was able to instill that passion in my son Fabián who accompanies me in the workshop today,” says “Lolo.”
Family business
For many years, Mecánica SG was the official Fiat service in San Francisco and a wide region. Currently the firm is dedicated to specialized multi-brand repair.
Mecánica SG is a family business, in which his son Fabián – his right-hand man, he calls him – is dedicated to the electrical part of the vehicles and his son-in-law, Joaquín, helps him with the mechanics. “This situation, that the family is behind this, makes one not give up, continue investing and training,” he highlights.
In May of this year he will have an important trip to take a course on electric and hybrid cars, “I want to do it because it intrigues me, to be able to transmit that knowledge to others,” he says.
“Lolo” with his son, Fabián (right) and his son-in-law, Joaquín.
What is the level of mechanics in San Francisco?
-We have very good mechanics and very good colleagues, there is a very good relationship with them. I think people understood, more so with everything that mechanics advanced, that we all need everyone. There is a permanent dialogue, that back and forth dialogue is very important between colleagues.
-How do you imagine yourself a few years from now?
That’s why I say I’m leaving and I won’t come again – he laughs – but no, I’m going to do this until I die. I will do what I can, what do I know, the workshop is my place in the world. I am lucky to have many friends, many acquaintances who come to visit me and we have a waiting room where we have a coffee and chat with clients. Luckily I work with many people from outside, from a wide area, from Santa Fe to Córdoba and even Buenos Aires. Sometimes those clients from big cities trust us from the interior more. And that’s very nice. I don’t know the future, I’m going to continue in the workshop until God says.
Mechanic’s Day: why it is commemorated
The date was established in 1947, when the then Secretary General of the Union of Mechanics and Related Automotive Transport of the Argentine Republic (SMATA), Adolfo García, requested to recognize the day in honor of mechanical workers.
The first edition of this celebration coincided with the victory in the presidential elections of Juan Domingo Perón, something that helped the workers demand a tripartite agreement between the Government, the union and the automotive companies.