A Very Pedestrian Superhero Grapples With Mexico City Traffic Nicholas Casey - WSJ.com
go to original May 29, 2013

Peatónito: El Defensor de los peatones (gruporeforma)

MEXICO CITY - If you ever get stuck in gridlock at an intersection in this crowded capital city, you can't expect help from a street cop. But you might try "Peatónito," the protector of pedestrians who dresses as a Mexican wrestler.

When a car blocks a crosswalk, from out of nowhere appears Peatónito ("little pedestrian" in Spanish), in a cape and wrestler's mask. He stands directly in front of the car and tries to push it back with his bare hands - often to the astonishment of the drivers. If a motorbike is parked on the sidewalk blocking the way, Peatónito lifts it up and puts it on the curb where it belongs.

No crosswalk at an intersection? No problem: Peatónito travels with a can of white paint and a few official-looking stencils, ready to paint the crosshatches where they might be needed. It is a pity he can't be everywhere at once.

"Peatónito is the favorite wrestler of pedestrians, wrestling for their rights," he said recently. "The pedestrian is king."

Mexico City has terrible traffic and too many cars. City folk deal with pedestrians in the road about the same way country folk deal with stray chickens. If crossing the road is bad, try walking on the broken sidewalks. As the mustachioed Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata once put it: "The moment I get on one of those sidewalks, I start to fall down."

There is no one more neglected than Mexico City's walkers, says Peatónito.

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