Chile protests: ‘Captain Stop’ and police-hating dog go viral as demonstrators seek new heroes
- Muscular figure known as ‘PareMan’ rose to fame after being photographed using traffic sign as shield during clash with police
- ‘Matapacos’, the ‘cop killer’ black mongrel sporting a red bandana, has appeared alongside him in cartoons and memes
A muscular, hooded man shielding himself with a traffic “Stop” sign during a clash with police amid protests in the Chilean capital has gone viral on social networks, with the man being lauded as a romantic hero of the struggle that has raged for the past three weeks.
The image of “PareMan” or “Captain Pare,” as he has become known – pare means stop in Spanish – was first captured on October 30 by Reuters photographer Jorge Silva during protests on Santiago’s central Alameda thoroughfare.
“He was a very striking figure on the frontline of the protest, with stones flying and the police using tear gas to disperse everyone,” Silva said. “After I took those pictures, he just disappeared.”
The man’s image has since been widely replicated by local cartoonists.
The phrase #PareMan has been trending on social media with some eulogising him as the “First Chilean Superhero” of the protests, which started over a hike in public transport fares and has broadened to include grievances over low pensions and salaries, high utility rates and patchy public services.