A hooded, muscular 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 Oct. 30 by Reuters photographer Jorge Silva during protests on Santiago's central Alameda thoroughfare.
The phrase #PareMan has been trending on social media with some eulogizing 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.