In the aftermath of the 8.1 earthquake that hit southern Mexico over the weekend, tales of heroism and community have filtered out through social media. From the Tigres UANL players that rallied the Monterrey community to send food and supplies to Oaxaca to the rescue teams that helped the affect region in the immediate fallout from the quake, Mexicans have rallied together to help move past the natural disaster that left over 95 people dead.
One such hero performed a less immediately helpful and yet ultimately uplifting act when he rescued a Mexican flag from the city of Juchitán in Oaxaca. He then planted the flag in the rubble, an act that was captured in an image which went immediately viral as a symbol of hope for the Mexican people.
As the image made the rounds, it made its way to Chivas de Guadalajara, the Liga MX defending champions–albeit ones that are struggling this season–and the club wants to find the man responsible. This “Hero Without a Cape” did not publicize his own action, nor did he leave any sign of who he was. In a time when Mexico is under ideological attack from its neighbor to the north, a small gesture such as this can carry waves of national pride through a country that is recovering from the worst earthquake in at least 85 years.
Since Chivas posted on social media asking for clues about the man, the club’s Twitter followers appear to have delivered. According to Twitter user @RaulRam17676024, the man’s name is Don Ángel Sánchez, and he has done a a round of interviews since planting the flag. About the act, Sánchez had this to say to La Razón: “I don’t look to be a symbol, I just want to be a friend to Juchitán. The flag is our national symbol, and is part of our identity, and I wasn’t ready to see it buried in the rubble. It was a sign to the juchitecos that we shouldn’t kneel to this phenomenon, we need to be strong to continue forward.”
Chivas has not yet announced what they are planning to do with Sánchez once they come in contact with him, but the club–which is famous for being completely made up of only Mexican players–surely plans to honor this hero that only wanted to be a friend to the community.