Iconic Chilean Dog Illustrations Used in the New York Protest for Subway Fare Evasion
Reuters

In a protest that occurred in New York City in November 2019, a black Chilean Dog wearing a red bandana made another historic appearance.

The November 2019 Rally in New York was inspired by the videos containing police violence towards the youths of color in its subways. In one of the videos, a police officer was recorded to have pushed a Black and unarmed youngster.

Multiple stickers were placed on the walls of the subway and trains. Multiple social media platforms contained the announcement that the iconic Chilean dog will be going to New York.

The name of the dog is Negro Matapacos. It became famous for joining protests in Chile for their fight for change in their country's system for education. The iconic dog-faced police officers in support of Chilean students.

The iconic black dog from Chile had made headlines when it protected the students who were protesting. They were protected by Negro Matapacos from the violence of the Chilean police force of Santiago, Chile in the year 2011.

The iconic dog had been known to walk through the different campuses of a university in a neighborhood in Campos. It was friends with a good number of stray dogs in the area. It also befriended a majority of the students. It had lived in the streets of Santiago for the majority of his life.

In 2009, Maria Campos, a resident in the area where the university is situated, had accepted Negros Matapacos in her home. She took care of it. Since then, the dog lived with her. She respected the independent character of the dog. At night, it slept in her house. In the day, she allowed it to roam in the streets of Santiago.

In 2011, students had arranged a protest to demand the Chilean government to offer free and good quality education for its Chilean students. Police forces used violent tools such as water cannons and tear gas to suppress them.

According to Campos, Matapacos would wait every morning for her to let it out of the house. After praying for the dog and other gestures commonly given by an owner to its pets, Matapacos would run towards the direction of the protests.

Negro Matapacos translated to English is Black Cop Killer. It is common in Latin America to use the color of a dog in naming it. The meaning of Matapacos in the region refers to the violence of the police force of Chile. The Black Chilean dog never ended anyone's life. Instead, it barked and lounged when police officers attacked and endangered the lives of the students.

Matapacos passed away in 2017. It died from natural causes while in the hands of caregivers. Despite his death, his legacy lives on by being used as a symbol for many protests in Chile and now, in New York.

The protest in New York was for the case of fare evasion in the subway. The protest includes artwork of the iconic Chilean dog jumping over the word evade.