Boy behind “mordida fail” visits ABC-7 studio

A boy who gained Facebook fame by narrowly avoiding having his face pushed into his birthday cake accepted an invitation to meet the ABC-7 news team.

Santiago Benitez, 8, starred in the video his mother shared with ABC-7 on Tuesday. In the video, Benitez evaded the birthday “mordida” or “bite” in English, by sliding a styrofoam plate out from underneath the table and in front of his face.

On Facebook, the video has been watched more than 4.5 million times and shared more than 114,000 times.

Benitez and his family toured the ABC-7 studio Wednesday night and talked about the moment that made him a viral sensation.

“They were going to push me,” Benitez said. “I had a plate, so I just put the plate in front of my face. When they pushed me, they wouldn’t get me.”

Benitez told ABC-7 that he wants to become a YouTube star.