José Alejandro Flores is the formal name bestowed to me since birth and over the years I have been referred to as Joey or simply Joe as well in my diverse circles of personal and professional acquaintances. In addition to the aforementioned names, I also was given a nickname that has stuck with me through various phases of my life thus far. That name is Bati and here’s the story of how that nickname surfaced along with a brief history of the Sarti surname as well.
As a competitive soccer player the initial three decades of my life, just like many other footballers, I would not only make a statement of my playing style on the pitch, but also off the pitch with my hairstyles and wardrobes. Among the various phases of different hairstyles that I sported, the one used for many years was a long haired version that would always be wet, parted and worn down during any soccer practices or games. It was in those ambiances where the nickname was born.
During one of my college team’s practice sessions, a team mate at the time by the name of Sean O’Brien randomly started calling me Bati because he said I reminded him of an Argentine footballer by the name of Gabriel Omar Batistuta. All it took was for Sean to share his nickname for me amongst the 30+ players on the team at the time and word quickly spread from the locker room to the pitch and the rest continues to be history in the making.
As for the Sarti name, it is one of my family’s last names that originated in Italy. Specifically it was my great, great grandfather from my father's side of the family whose name was Luis Calisto Sarti who emigrated to Guatemala City from Siracusa located on the Sicily island, just off the toe of Italy’s boot. As Luis Calisto established his family roots on the American continent, his Sarti last name branched out accordingly and one of those branches pertain to my family lineage.
Coupling my personal nickname with some of my family heritage resulted in humanizing the Bati Sarti brand.
