It forms a commotion in the square in less than the duration of a prime minister in the United Kingdom. Has arrived Spiderman. It’s been weeks since the sightings in Santa Coloma de Gramenet they run for TikTok and WhatsApp. “Nobody knows who he is”, mutters a family when seeing it from afar. The Spiderman greets, hugs, lets do photos with arachnid pose. It would lift the spirits of even a Barça member. “I do not have Superpowers to lift a bus in my arms -he shrugs-, but at least I do have the power to bring joy to people”.
“Santako Spidey”is called in Instagram. You have had an official account for a year: @spiderman_santako. He talks like a self-help guru, even though he hasn’t been bitten by a spider lately. When he takes off his costume, he’s afraid of heights, arachnophobia and scoliosis, be honest. 19 years. He is a veterinary technical assistant. He is now studying animal assisted therapy. At home he has a dog, two cats and five spider man suits.
Why Spiderman? “He is the hero that everyone identifies with,” he replies. He suffered ‘bullying‘, he lost his parents, then he lost his uncle… 40,000 misfortunes happen to him & rdquor ;. Just like Santako’s. “I also had episodes of ‘bullying’ –he explains-, my father also passed away, unfortunately. So we carry a pretty similar life”.
He won his first Spiderman suit in a lottery. A day later she was already going out with him. “I saw the opportunity and I did not miss it”, remember with a movie touch. That was almost two years ago. He was barely seen once every three or four months. Since September, he walks around Santa Coloma biweekly, with the consequent trail of videos on networks. He greets, hugs, takes photos with the touch of a famous hangover. Always notify on Instagram via ‘stories‘. “People even write to me privately asking me & rdquor ;, he says, still surprised.
“What’s your name?” the children ask him. “Spiderman& rdquor ;, he replies. “Nooo –they insist-, the real name”. Spider-Man crouches down and whispers to them, “Peter. peter parker”. His identity is known to perhaps 20 people that he knows of.
“I feel like the aunt May& rdquor ;, laughs next to the mother. Loli, her name is. No surnames, so as not to give clues. “It is very curious. We were recently at a friend’s birthday and the subject came up & rdquor ;, she says. “Do you know that there is a Spiderman here in Santako? & rdquor;, they told her and her son. “Look, look, they sent it to me on WhatsApp & rdquor ;. They both laughed, of course. “You see they are talking about your son and… Although there are derogatory comments, most are good & rdquor ;.
Vila Square. It’s where Spidey usually ends his round from Bottom. It is to see him appear and all the children around him run to hug him as if he were Santa Claus. “The girl is crazy about him. Spiderman” says mom after mom with Spider-Man backpacks. “Can I take a photo?”they ask every 30 seconds.
“There are people who look at me with pride, who even tell me: ‘Ole your balls for doing that, not everyone has the balls to do it.’ That phrase has been said to me many times, with those same words & rdquor ;. don’t you give shame? “No, no –he denies-, when I put on the suit I leave the shame at home. I take it, put it in a box and leave it there aside & rdquor ;.
he can’t change in cabins to the Superman. She needs help adjusting her costume. Don’t risk breaking it. “I’m not like Iron Man. I’m much more poor -Serie-. I have to take good care of the suits & rdquor ;. He usually buys them on Aliexpress. “They are quite cheap”. She’s already got her eye on a new one. “Let’s see if for this November I can catch him doing many accounts, many, many accounts & rdquor ;.
not the first spiderman who does good by Barcelona. Three years ago there was another anonymous spider-man who scared away thieves, fed cats and cheered up the homeless, ‘Open Metropolis’ reported. One has also been sighted by the Hospital de Sant Pau: Edward Rodriguez, this says name and surname. He lives in Malaga, but visits children all over Spain in and out of costume.
Does Santa Coloma need a Spiderman? “Not one, three & rdquor ;, Jose agrees while his daughter interrogates the spider-man. “I think it’s better than many politicians& rdquor ;, he adds. “We are in politics up to here –Josefa, another step mother, points to an imaginary bow-, we are from Putin up to here… This is happiness & rdquor ;. And she points to the neighborhood spider-man taking pictures with his son.
“If he says he’s Spiderman, then he’s Spiderman and there’s nothing more to talk about & rdquor ;. It is the conclusion of another local superhero: the Batman by Gramenet. She talked to Spidey for his blog. “A NINETEEN YEAR OLD BOY – she underlines it in capital letters- SAY WHAT HE IS HAPPY MAKING PEOPLE HAPPY”. Perhaps the Eurodisney one has more glamor -he adds- but less vocation.
@malenitaa01 Santako and my mother?. #santako #spiderman #fyp #for you ♬ original sound – maluu
“With great power comes great responsibility”. The Santako’s Peter Parker already repeats the Spiderman mantra on the run. “In my case, my responsibility is cheer people up –he insists- and in part save the day & rdquor ;. His superpower? The patience, it is clear when strolling an afternoon with him. “I guess also tenacity -Add-. I am someone with a Will very strong & rdquor ;. She has spent 12 hours under Spiderman’s skin at 42 degrees, she says, puffing out her chest.
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“Never stop chasing your dreams & rdquor;, advises by Instagram. Which ones does he pursue? “Having what I never had,” he says. When I was little I had enough deprivation at the social level. Have according to what support, even motivation. Sometimes she would get me up and say: ‘Damn, I just don’t feel like doing anything.’ It still happens to me even today & rdquor ;. For him ‘bullying‘? “Yes,” he answers, “especially because of ‘bullying’. When it extends for so many years, you lose the desire for everything & rdquor ;. Until she got into the skin of Spiderman. “Literally going from being called a ‘freak’ in class to being super popular… It’s a nice thing.”
“A person’s will is the greatest power he has & rdquor;. It is the movie phrase that he usually repeats now. “I’m already Spiderman, I already have what I wanted -you sense that he smiles under the mask-. Now what remains for me is to improve it, to be able to recover physically -referring to his scoliosis-, even being able to do somersaults & rdquor ;. also hope to do solidarity events. “I am waiting for them to call me to go to hospitals & rdquor ;. She has just signed up for a Santako charity course. “I’m going to run the 5K with my suit on.” Her dream -adds her mother- would be to participate in the procession of Kings of Santa Coloma. Why does he do it? “It’s not hard for me,” she says carelessly, “I just put up with the suit for hours, and I can help a lot of people. comforts the soul”.