They love their burros in Colombia, and nowhere more so than in San Antero, a small town on the Caribbean coast. They love them so much they built a statue to celebrate the “noble beast” and for four days at Easter every year the whole town goes donkey-mad with the world’s only Donkey carnival.
“At the beginning people just made fun of me,” recalls Cristoval Correa of the first time he proposed the party more than 20 years ago. “But now look,” he says proudly surveying the 400 or so donkeys and their owners readying themselves for the donkey stampede which kicks off the annual festivities. A few of the locals have really gone to town this year, dressing up their beasts as soap stars or paramilitary leaders in a bid to win the donkey costume competition.
The original idea of the festival, explains Correa, “Was to protect the donkey—to stop it from going extinct.” Oh kaye… In any case, by this point Correa’s floppy-eared little brainchild has taken on a life of its own. The 20th celebration of the National Festival of the Donkey was marked by the inauguration of the Burrodome, San Antero’s own version of Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadome. That’s right, they built a stadium where man and beast can hang out together, grab a beer, and listen to Colombia’s vallenato legends belt it out in competition for “King of the Donkey Festival.”
Despite the ready admission of many a Northern Colombian male to occasional (or frequent) dalliances with the brown beast, Correa is not happy with the implication that San Antero celebrates the animal due to collective zoophilia.
“Please, it is a sacred being that has allowed the town of San Antero to be internationally recognised and has become a symbol of our community,” he says. “Perhaps there were some indiscretions in the old days when sex was taboo and the kids could not have sex until they were 21, but not today.”
Incidentally, while he was carrying on at me attempting to debunk the myth, the mayor of San Antero was right next to us, handing out t-shirts with a donkey on the front surrounded by the words “A good Costeño never forgets his first love.”
“At the beginning people just made fun of me,” recalls Cristoval Correa of the first time he proposed the party more than 20 years ago. “But now look,” he says proudly surveying the 400 or so donkeys and their owners readying themselves for the donkey stampede which kicks off the annual festivities. A few of the locals have really gone to town this year, dressing up their beasts as soap stars or paramilitary leaders in a bid to win the donkey costume competition.
“Please, it is a sacred being that has allowed the town of San Antero to be internationally recognised and has become a symbol of our community,” he says. “Perhaps there were some indiscretions in the old days when sex was taboo and the kids could not have sex until they were 21, but not today.” 
oh God why did i clik this video!
Posted by: tru | May 09, 2007 at 06:38 AM
What song is playing in part 2 as they cut from the sex therapist to being in Columbia? They also play a little more of it after the correspondent says something.
Posted by: Max Mojo | May 09, 2007 at 11:29 PM
this is the coolest shit i ever seen. makes me feel great!
Posted by: damn | May 10, 2007 at 05:42 PM
that donkey is a whoor.
Posted by: sar | May 10, 2007 at 08:33 PM
you should have sent shane to do this story
Posted by: al | May 11, 2007 at 06:45 AM
Just wondering why the taxi driver decided to ... erm ... show 'em how it is done?
Also is this type of stuff known across Colombia? Does it happen across Colombia?
It was a real great story, and I think like any great story poses more questions than anyone could ever answer
Posted by: Nige | May 14, 2007 at 02:15 AM
With donkeys like that, it'd be hard to resist. Such great make-up application.
Posted by: devolute | May 15, 2007 at 10:18 AM
Hey, I loved the story and linked to it on my blog (apparently the trackback didn't show up). Anyway, keep up the good work!
Posted by: alec | May 15, 2007 at 04:41 PM
It doesn't happen all across the country, it is mostly in the Caribbean area and even though I grew up hearing the rumors about it, this is actually the first time in my life I ever see it. The people that are interviewed are people from marginal areas so called "ghetto". This is not something that is seeing in the capital city or bigger areas.
Posted by: costeña | May 17, 2007 at 04:33 PM
I have never been so offended in my life! How dare you be so one sided about such a topic! Did you ever think to mention that this was something that went on in the most impoverished, redneck like parts of the country? In the large cities, they would be appalled to hear of such things and this is NOT a common or even accepted occurrence. Why don't you do an expose about the south and show uneducated, poor Americans that screw sheep and marry their sisters!! And it's spelled COLOMBIA you ignoramus!! This is why the rest of the world hates the USA!!! Why tear down other cultures instead of showcasing what makes them great? I know, it makes America look so great that way. No one outside of the U.S. is fooled.
Posted by: Colombian | June 01, 2007 at 04:23 AM
max mojo >>>
that's 'Woman Friend' by Chromeo
Posted by: ottawa tchyoself | September 20, 2007 at 04:01 AM
Posted by: | October 30, 2007 at 11:45 PM
LOL!!! the size of Colombina culture is colossal!!! 1st in the world !!!
Posted by: Pascal | July 26, 2009 at 03:23 AM
Don't have a cow man.
It is well known that man has long had love affairs, which includes sex, with many animals.
It was even a part of many now almost forgotten fertility rites for humans to mate with animals.
if the animals like it, why not?
It is a part of spiritualism.
Posted by: Charles | August 20, 2009 at 11:18 PM