This Is How a Crowd in Argentina Reunited a Lost Boy With His Dad

When you’re a little kid, it’s easy to get separated from your parents. Most of us, at some point or another, have turned around and our mom or dad was no longer there. At that point, panic sets in; you can only hope that a nice adult helps you find them. The people at Plaza Dorrego in Buenos Aires, Argentina, show us how it’s done. As a community, they came together to help a lost kid find his parent both quickly and safely.

In a viral video captured by someone in the crowd, a boy named Juan Cruz was separated from his father, Eduardo. What came next was something that is a common practice across South America. Juan Cruz was placed on the shoulders of the tallest man there, and the crowd started clapping to bring attention to him. Then, a band began playing and people started chanting “Eduardo! Eduardo!” The tall man, with Juan Cruz still atop him, is also standing and clapping. A minute later, Eduardo appears and runs up to his sobbing son and wraps him in a big hug.

People on Reddit, especially those in the United States, were amazed at how quickly the crowd came together in the shared interest of reuniting Juan Cruz with Eduardo. “This is so beautiful and effective,” one Redditor said, “I wish we had anything remotely similar in the States.”

Another Redditor detailed their own experience like the one Juan Cruz had. “I’m from Argentina, when I was a child, maybe 5 years old, I got lost on a beach, so I went to a random lady and told her I had gotten lost, so they did this for me (getting me into someone’s shoulders and clapping) and I was found a minute later,” they recalled. “It works wonders and encourages children to ask for help to be found instead of wandering around on their own.”