A young protester armed with a violin took to the streets of Caracas during deadly anti-government protests and played Venezuela‘s national anthem as tear gas rained down on the demonstrators.
During Monday’s demonstration a young man decided to use his violin in protest of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.
With a red shirt wrapped around his mouth and nose, video shows the young man calmly playing his violin as riot police volley tear gas towards the group. Video captured by local journalists show other protesters using makeshift shields to help protect the musician from incoming projectiles as the man continues to play.
READ MORE: Here’s why Venezuela’s political and economic turmoil have spawned deadly protests
Video journalist Iván Ernesto Reyes captured some of the talented protester’s music during the demonstration.
“Today I saw a true example of magical realism. A protester played his violin while the GNP threw teargas and pellets,” the journalist tweeted along with some video.
At least 38 people have been killed and nearly 750 people injured in the demonstrations that have been going on for over a month.
The protests began in late March after the country’s top court issued a decision stripping the opposition-controlled congress of its last remaining powers. Maduro later asked the court to walk back that move amid a storm of international criticism. But the attempt to take over congress unleashed long-simmering anger amid an economic crisis that has a majority of Venezuelans skipping meals and even losing weight.
READ MORE: Venezuelan tanks plow through crowds as 2-month protest continues
Speaking with CNN, the journalist said he thought the music was coming from speakers at first until he “saw this kid.”
“And there he was, standing, playing the Venezuelan anthem, and with a couple of kids that were around him, sort of protecting him,” Reyes told CNN. “There were bombs, teargas and repression, but he kept playing his violin. He did not stop.”
–with a file from the Associated Press