Claudio Andrade
05/18/2021 8:13 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 05/18/2021 8:13 PM
The grocer who became famous for
riding his old Ford F-100 through
the waves that reached the seashore at Las Grutas was found dead with his vehicle near San Antonio, in the southern province of Buenos Aires.
The first information indicates that it would have been a suicide.
Cristian Firmapaz (35) was dedicated to collecting octopus and firewood in an area of the Río Negro coast since he was young.
In mid-2020 he had gone viral when he was caught by tourists while
crossing the waves
of the San Matías Gulf with the Ford F-100.
A few meters away, a group of people struggled without luck to get a brand new Toyota Hilux
embedded in the sand
.
The images went viral and even the company called him to renew his loyal vehicle.
Cristian Firmapaz, in his truck.
Some time ago, Firmapaz was
accused of sexual abuse
by a member of his family.
The case was brought to justice, but no details emerged.
It is anyone's guess if the complaint prompted him to end his life, local sources indicate.
Firmapaz was discovered on a soccer field in the area of the Club Hípico de San Antonio Oeste, about 10 blocks from his home.
The last time witnesses saw him was around 10 p.m. on Monday.
Among his clothes he carried his documents and his body lay next to the truck.
On December 18, the pulpero was the protagonist of a sequence that later went viral on social networks.
Someone recorded it in El Sótano crossing the seashore at high tide with his F-100.
A few meters away, a 4x4 truck remained stranded.
L
His Ford 100 was a kind of tank with war wounds.
Traces of a faint turquoise covered with mud and rust stains remained of its original color.
Its engine had undergone numerous interventions.
As for Firmapaz, her appearance never changed: panties, sneakers and striped pullover.
Everyone at Las Grutas knew him for his daring hauling and for pulling trucks much newer than his from
traps in the sand
.
“The phone doesn't stop ringing, and I answer and I don't have time to work.
That's what fame is like, they tell me here, but for fame I'm going to starve ”,
the grocer
said to
Clarín
at the time of greatest popularity.
An account was launched on Facebook called: "Let FORD give Cristian Firmapaz a truck as a gift."
This Tuesday almost 14 thousand members were counted.
"I am very grateful to those people who want to help me," he explained.
Firmapaz had a wife, Viviana, and three children, ages 18, 11 and 7.
