Tijuana zebra striped donkeys on Av. Revolucion

So why is it that Tijuana is the only city in the world that featues zebra-striped donkeys? After many visits to Tijuana, I'm still trying to figure it out. Is it the hilly terrain, the booze and tourist dust from Av. Revolucion, or is it the menudo? Whatever it is, it leads to a unique breed of donkey only found on Av. Revolucion in the tourist-heart of downtown Tijuana: The Tijuana zebra-striped donkey.

The much-rumored donkey shows of Tijuana are a myth, as they don't exist nor did they ever exist. The girls? The working girls? Look north a few blocks to the Zona Norte, as described on my web site, as the Tijuana sex scene or the prostitutes that frequent the Zona Norte, is not a part of the protocol of this web site.

Photos: As you stroll Av. Revolucion, you can't help but to notice "Junior," the zebra-striped donkey near the intersection of Calle 4 and Av. Revolucion.

As you stroll along the Avenue, you'll see the donkeys, patiently standing at street corners, be-decked in their Tijuana zebra strips, adorned by colorful costumes, and waiting for the next customer. Sure, for the price of around $10.00 in U.S. funds, you can have your photo, or your if you're visiting with your entire family, everyone's photo, taken with the donkey. My question is, who is the donkey, the beast with the zebra stripes, of the person, or persons who are getting their photo taken? All I know is the local Tijuana hawkers are making a lot of money from the tourists, who gape at their donkeys.

Left: Junior, the donkey, waits for more customers. Note that he has food and water, and he is well-treated. Right: A close shot of Junior, thanks to the 10x optical zoom on my camera. Junior's owner and other entrepreneurs who have donkeys on Av. Revolucion don't like it if you take photos, so take your photos with care!

Ok, what is the secret to the zebra-striped Tijuana donkeys? Well, after a few Dos-XX beers, a bit of courage and a tip or two, I found out the secret: Shoe polish! I talked to one of the donkey guys and he told me that he gets up early in the morning and applies shoe polish to his donkey and then takes the donkey to the corner that he has staked out. Yes, he was adamant to point out that he has a business license, as the city of Tijuana requires it, and he takes great pains to treat his donkey humainly, to help appease the Mexican equivilents of the P.E.T.A.-types.

Think about this: The donkey gets it's make-up job in the morning and for the rest of the day, all it has to do is stand on a street corner, endure numerous tourist photos, and munch on alfalfa and drink water. Not a bad life; I think if I was re-incarnated into a donkey, that I'd wish to be a Tijuana zebra-striped donkey on Av. Revolucion.

Such is the life for a Tijuana zebra-striped donkey.

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