By Candelaria Grimberg
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Some 1,000 people gathered at a major monument in Argentina’s capital on Sunday dressed as Spider-Man, aiming to break a world record for the most people dressed as the famous Marvel superhero at a single public event.
Argentine influencer Uki Deane organized the gathering via Instagram, aiming to outdo an event in June in Malaysia where 685 people dressed as Spider-Man.
Deane said he was confident of obtaining the Guinness World Records title with the turnout in Buenos Aires at the famous obelisk monument, where the crowd was a sea of skin-tight blue costumes and red masks.
“I wanted to summon 700 people and from our counting, we are many more. We have more than 1,000 signatures,” he told reporters at the event.
“It’s crazy what Spider-Man causes, it gives me enormous joy,” the 33-year-old added.
Guinness World Records did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The organizers asked participants to provide signatures and have their photo taken as documentation to provide to the record-keeping group.
The superhero look-alikes dressed as the character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko clapped and sang with good cheer during the sunny afternoon. One participant complemented the Spider-Man costume with the blue-and-white striped Argentine soccer jersey, while another wore a business suit with a red tie that matched the superhero mask.
Juan Menchon, a 25-year-old soccer coach, said he felt empowered by the Spider-Man outfit.
“I’m very shy and the mask gives me a lot of freedom to have my say and express myself,” he said.
Others agreed with the costume’s transformative powers.
Matias Cones, 18, noted: “As Stan Lee says, anyone can put on the mask.”
(Reporting by Candelaria Grinberg; Writing by Lucila Sigal and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Jamie Freed)
