The Wrestler’s Pedestrian Uprising
By Peatónito
By day, I am a mild-mannered citizen of Mexico. At night, I become Peatónito, masked defender of the pedestrians of Mexico City. Peatónito can be found on the streets most dangerous for people walking. You may find him guiding an elderly person across the street, pushing vehicles backwards out of a crosswalk, or stomping across the tops of cars parked on the sidewalk. Where better crosswalks or road markings are needed, but not present, Peatónito paints his own.
In Spanish, Peatónito means “little pedestrian.” But the character I become is a “luchador” (that’s wrestler) hardly small in stature. Rather, Peatónito is a hero for the little guy. In Mexico City, where a person is killed walking every single day, pedestrians have little power compared to drivers and their cars. I created the character of Peatónito to be a superhero on a quest to restore the human scale to our cities.
Peatónito dresses as a player in the “lucha libre” arena, where the magic of traditional wrestling matches happens and regular men and women can become heroes of the people. By adopting the look of this beloved Mexican spectacle, Peatónito is instantly understood as a vigilante of the streets. I call these tactical interventions “walking urban guerrillas.”
In 1993, when Antanas Mockus was elected mayor of Bogotá, that city was plagued by violent crime and lawless streets. So the new mayor donned a cape and sewed a “C” to his chest. Super Citizen, as he called himself, hoped to inspire Colombians to embrace a needed change in Bogotá’s culture. At dangerous intersections he dispatched mimes to dance and joke, and of course make the traffic laws crystal clear. “Knowledge,” said Mockus, “empowers people. If people know the rules, and are sensitized by art, humor, and creativity, they are much more likely to accept change.”
Like Mockus, my intention was never to create performance art. Rather, I saw how pedestrians were disregarded in the chaos of Mexico City; the lack of safe infrastructure, the very inefficient minibus system, a city where the simple act of riding a bike often becomes an extreme sport. I created Peatónito to show people that it does not need to be this way. Dressing as a superhero became an effective way to engage and empower pedestrians. I wanted citizens to know and feel that they should be able to walk throughout Mexico City without the danger of being hit by a car.
“You’re not a kid,” people have yelled at me while I am in the streets dressed as Peatónito. “You’re ridiculous,” drivers yell to me out the windows of their cars. I just wave. But insults are uncommon. In large part, the effect of a man in a wrestling mask scolding drivers has been remarkable; people smile at me, say thank you.
Today, thanks to Peatónito and a lot of others, Mexico City is changing. Two powerful associations, BICIRED (Bike Network) and the Pedestrian League, have brought pedestrian and bicycle advocates from across Mexico together. In Mexico City, various organizations have formed the Coalition for Vision Zero, declaring that we will not allow any more deaths or serious injuries on our streets. Pedestrian and bicycle activists have influenced the government through protest and other democratic mechanisms.
Due to these efforts, our city is rapidly improving, with new bike lanes, safer crosswalks, better public spaces, improved public transport, and strict traffic regulations. We now have a team of citizens and public officials that supports pedestrians’ and cyclists’ right to the city, and wishes to spread democracy in the way that we design our streets.
There are cities around the world with streets like Mexico City’s, in need of Peatónito’s pedestrian revolution. It’s a peaceful revolution, and a necessary one. Regaining our cities will not be easy, but corner by corner, intersection by intersection, sidewalk by sidewalk, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood and, finally, city by city, pedestrians can win this revolution.
Sometimes, it takes seeing someone else’s outrage to inspire yours. That’s what Peatónito does. He gets mad for the people when there are cars in the crosswalk or drivers parking on the sidewalk, so that the next time, people can get mad for themselves.
In Mexico City, the pedestrian revolution looks like a man in a luchador mask; in Bogotá, it dresses as a mime. What mask could the pedestrian revolution wear in your city? Join us! Hasta la victoria siempre!
[This article was first published in Transportation Alternatives’ Vision Zero Cities Journal in 2016.]
The creator of the “Peatónito” personality is an urban planner who prefers to remain anonymous. In and out of costume, he has advised the government of Mexico City on pedestrian safety and served as Coordinator of Communication for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy in Mexico. He is currently working on the “Shared City” strategy for Vision Zero at the Laboratorio para la Ciudad, an experimental sector of Mexico City’s government focused on the relationship between the government and civil society.
