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Thousands of adoring fans line the streets, jostling to catch a glimpse of megastar millionaire Madonna...
But it's not the Material Girl they are looking at, it's male look-a-like Elias Figueroa, a poor boy from Chile who loved the superstar so much he decided to become her!
Elias, 28, became obsessed with Madge from the first moment he heard her music on his parents crackling radio in Santiago.
'I was still a schoolboy,' said Elias. 'I heard "Like a Virgin" and it totally blew me away. Madonna was so naughty, so sexy and unorthodox she broke the rules and I wanted to know everything about her.'
Now Elias is a gay lookalike and earns $12,000 a year as a Man-donna impersonator, three times the national salary in Chile, and the equivalent of around £50,000 in the UK.
'I live the life of a superstar,' he said. 'Strangers flock to me, tell me they love me and even try to grab my bum. I'm so good at playing Madonna, some people can't tell the difference between me and the real thing they don't even realise I'm a man.'
Elias, who listened to Madonna in secret as a child, became obsessed with the star and memorised her sexy dance moves alone in front of the bathroom mirror.
'I would lock the door, put a towel on my head to look like hair and sing into my toothbrush,' he said.
As Elias grew older he challenged the stifling control of his parents and began to hit the gay party scene in Santiago. The first time he performed as Madonna to an audience was in 1996 when, at the age of 15, he gave a karaoke style performance at a friend's birthday party.
'My friend's didn't know how much I had been practicing so when they saw me they thought it was totally amazing,' he said. 'I watched every Madonna video I could find and studied every single detail her clothes, hair, make-up, gestures and attitude.'
Two years later, after scouring fancy dress shops and markets for the perfect outfit, Elias unveiled himself as Madonna dressed in a saucy bridal outfit with a veil. 'People were amazed at the transformation,' explains Elias. 'But I wasn't just dressing and singing like her. I had the whole package and took on her entire personality I stopped being shy Elias and became a real diva.'
Desperate to perform to a bigger crowd, Elias took his act to Santiago's clubs and bars and begged to be given a chance to go on stage. He earned just £12 for his first gig, but was such a hit he was invited back immediately and after two years could charge what he liked. After going full-time eight years ago he's now performing up to three times a week and earns up to £500 a show more than the average monthly wage in Chile. Jet-setting Elias performs to up to 20,000 people at packed theatres and open-air stadiums.
'Being Madonna completes me,' he said. 'On stage I am her. I leave Elias behind and become completely confident, sexy and outrageous like her. She has so many roles and personalities in her songs that I get to be each of those. I feel sexy like her. She's like a modern Marilyn Monroe. And I love the attention of being on stage.
'The crowd always goes wild and I get lots of compliments. It's a gay man's fantasy to be so glamorous and live this lifestyle like a celebrity.'
He spends the equivalent of £10,000 a year on outfits, wigs and make-up for his act, forking out hundreds on designer dresses. Maintaining Madonna's sinewy physique isn't easy and, although comfortably wealthy, Elias cannot afford micro biotic dietitians, pilates instructors and personal trainers to help him.
'I must be skinny and fibrous so I have to eat light and healthily,' he said.'I avoid grease and make sure that I am always burning calories. I also have to shave my eyebrows and draw new ones to look more feminine.'
Elias now lives in a plush apartment with his male partner. 'He is not fan of Madonna, but he likes what I do,' said Elias. 'He just sees it as my job but he loves Elias not Madonna.'
Since the real Madonna's first trip to Chile as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour last December his career has taken off even more. He's such a celebrity he now gets mobbed whenever he walks down the street dressed as his idol.
'I do get harassed sometimes,' he admits. 'But I love the attention and most of the time people congratulate me. They even ask if I've had cosmetic surgery to my face and say I've got a pretty body even better than Madonna's.'
Despite the incredible resemblance, Elias has yet to meet his idol.
'That would be a dream come true,' he gushes. 'She's a goddess.'
But it's not the Material Girl they are looking at, it's male look-a-like Elias Figueroa, a poor boy from Chile who loved the superstar so much he decided to become her!
Elias, 28, became obsessed with Madge from the first moment he heard her music on his parents crackling radio in Santiago.
'I was still a schoolboy,' said Elias. 'I heard "Like a Virgin" and it totally blew me away. Madonna was so naughty, so sexy and unorthodox she broke the rules and I wanted to know everything about her.'
Now Elias is a gay lookalike and earns $12,000 a year as a Man-donna impersonator, three times the national salary in Chile, and the equivalent of around £50,000 in the UK.
'I live the life of a superstar,' he said. 'Strangers flock to me, tell me they love me and even try to grab my bum. I'm so good at playing Madonna, some people can't tell the difference between me and the real thing they don't even realise I'm a man.'
Elias, who listened to Madonna in secret as a child, became obsessed with the star and memorised her sexy dance moves alone in front of the bathroom mirror.
'I would lock the door, put a towel on my head to look like hair and sing into my toothbrush,' he said.
As Elias grew older he challenged the stifling control of his parents and began to hit the gay party scene in Santiago. The first time he performed as Madonna to an audience was in 1996 when, at the age of 15, he gave a karaoke style performance at a friend's birthday party.
'My friend's didn't know how much I had been practicing so when they saw me they thought it was totally amazing,' he said. 'I watched every Madonna video I could find and studied every single detail her clothes, hair, make-up, gestures and attitude.'
Two years later, after scouring fancy dress shops and markets for the perfect outfit, Elias unveiled himself as Madonna dressed in a saucy bridal outfit with a veil. 'People were amazed at the transformation,' explains Elias. 'But I wasn't just dressing and singing like her. I had the whole package and took on her entire personality I stopped being shy Elias and became a real diva.'
Desperate to perform to a bigger crowd, Elias took his act to Santiago's clubs and bars and begged to be given a chance to go on stage. He earned just £12 for his first gig, but was such a hit he was invited back immediately and after two years could charge what he liked. After going full-time eight years ago he's now performing up to three times a week and earns up to £500 a show more than the average monthly wage in Chile. Jet-setting Elias performs to up to 20,000 people at packed theatres and open-air stadiums.
'Being Madonna completes me,' he said. 'On stage I am her. I leave Elias behind and become completely confident, sexy and outrageous like her. She has so many roles and personalities in her songs that I get to be each of those. I feel sexy like her. She's like a modern Marilyn Monroe. And I love the attention of being on stage.
'The crowd always goes wild and I get lots of compliments. It's a gay man's fantasy to be so glamorous and live this lifestyle like a celebrity.'
He spends the equivalent of £10,000 a year on outfits, wigs and make-up for his act, forking out hundreds on designer dresses. Maintaining Madonna's sinewy physique isn't easy and, although comfortably wealthy, Elias cannot afford micro biotic dietitians, pilates instructors and personal trainers to help him.
'I must be skinny and fibrous so I have to eat light and healthily,' he said.'I avoid grease and make sure that I am always burning calories. I also have to shave my eyebrows and draw new ones to look more feminine.'
Elias now lives in a plush apartment with his male partner. 'He is not fan of Madonna, but he likes what I do,' said Elias. 'He just sees it as my job but he loves Elias not Madonna.'
Since the real Madonna's first trip to Chile as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour last December his career has taken off even more. He's such a celebrity he now gets mobbed whenever he walks down the street dressed as his idol.
'I do get harassed sometimes,' he admits. 'But I love the attention and most of the time people congratulate me. They even ask if I've had cosmetic surgery to my face and say I've got a pretty body even better than Madonna's.'
Despite the incredible resemblance, Elias has yet to meet his idol.
'That would be a dream come true,' he gushes. 'She's a goddess.'
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