About

Susana Distancia is a fictional cartoon superhero created by Mexican public health officials to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Her name is a play on words, as "su sana distancia" roughly translates to "your healthy distance" in English. She is depicted as a long-haired brunette with a pink and yellow spandex suit and the letters "SD" on her chest. By T-posing she can create a 2-meter bubble around her body that keeps her safe from COVID-19. Shortly after being announced on the SALUD Mexico Twitter page,^[1] users began to make both critical and supportive memes about the character.

Origin

On March 20th, 2020, a Twitter page was opened for Susana Distancia.^[2] On March 21st, SALUD Mexico posted a video announcing Susana Distancia (shown below). In the video, Susana Distancia describes how she can create a safety bubble around her body by extending her arms to her side as if T-Posing. The video is meant to show viewers what 2-meters looks like so they can judge whether or not they're social distancing properly.

Twitter users were quick to criticize SALUD Mexico for the video, claiming hypocrisy as many photographs exist of Mexican government officials failing to obey social distancing rules. Less than an hour after it was posted, Twitter user gsreynaga posted an image from the Susana Distancia conference showing audience members sitting less than 2-meters apart (shown below, left). The caption translates roughly to, "Something does not add up." Shortly after, Twitter user beltrandelrio posted another photo of the President of Mexico with his hand on a woman's shoulder, sarcastically captioned, "Is this a healthy distance?" (Shown below, right.) Users continued to post images of Mexican officials failing to follow their own advice to show off their hypocrisy.

Other users poked fun at the design and idea of Susana Distancia in general, creating photoshops and making memes about the superhero. For example, on March 20th Twitter user victorgochi posted a meme joking that The Simpsons predicted Susana Distancia (shown below, left). On the same day, Twitter use Pardo_azoro suggested Susana Distancia be one of the key members of the Mexican Avengers next to other well-known Mexican characters (shown below, right).

Spread

Throughout late March, Twitter users continued to make memes surrounding Susana Distancia. On March 21st, ReeksssBlack uploaded a meme comparing Susana Distancia to an image of Dewey from Malcolm In The Middle in a large ball (shown below, left). On the same day, eroerny uploaded a Call Me By Your Name Sequel Title meme featuring Susana Distancia as the punchline, captioned, "Call Me By Your Name Call Me Susana Distancia" (shown below, right).

Some users photoshopped images of Susana Distancia for comedic effect. On March 21st, hebertosinlao photoshopped the superhero into a bubble alongside some Moomin (shown below, left). On the same day, fuckyoureader uploaded a photoshopped image of
Susana Distancia with large lips, eyes, and long nails, alongside a caption that roughly translates to, "You: I want to go out. Susana Distancia: No my dear" (shown below, right).

Susana Distancia supporters created fanart of the superhero, depicting her in various art styles and situations (examples shown below).

Susana Distancia x Catalina la Catrina Fan Art

In October of 2020, Twitter users began creating and sharing fan art featuring Susana Distancia and Catalina la Catrina. Some of this art depicts them fighting with each other (example shown below, left) while others depict them in an over-sexualized manner (example shown below, right).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References