Lucha Libre Hero 'Peatonito' Comes to Pedestrians' Rescue in Mexico City Krithika Varagur - The Huffington Post
go to original January 31, 2016

It's not a bird, it's not a plane, not even a traffic police: This is Peatonito, Mexico City's superhero that fights traffic accidents and protects pedestrians. (Zoomin.TV)

Mexico City has a lot of things going for it, but it's not a great place to walk. It has one of the highest pedestrian fatality rates in the world: there were approximately 1,000 pedestrian deaths in 2014, compared to 132 in New York City and 64 in London. (Each city has a population around 8.5 million.)

But Mexico City residents have a secret weapon: 29-year-old civil servant Jorge Cañez, who moonlights as Peatónito, a lucha libre defender of pedestrian rights. (Pedestrians are peatones in Spanish.)

Cañez told The Huffington Post that he started out as an activist both at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, where he studied, and the state government's Institute for Transportation Policy (ITDP). A lifelong urban planning wonk and avid cyclist, he was part of a group of guerrilla pedestrian activists during his last semester at the Institute in 2009.

Three years ago, he started wearing a lucha libre-style cape and mask in black and white, the colors of a street crossing, and created his alter-ego of Peatónito. Twice a week, he does everything from physically block cars to deliver speeches on pedestrian rights to his old standby, painting in missing crosswalks.

...Cañez's impact is already being felt: Mexico City mayor Miguel Mancera announced a number of traffic regulations that went into effect this month to lower speed limits, prohibit cellphones while driving, and mandate insurance for all drivers.

Read the rest at The Huffington Post

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