Tijuana Zebra

A Tijuana Zebra

A Tijuana Zebra or zonkey (although the latter term may also refer to a cross between a zebra and a donkey^[1]) is a donkey that has been painted with stripes so that it looks like a zebra.^[2][3][4]

History

Tijuana zebras have been a popular tourist attraction in Tijuana, Mexico, a city that borders the United States, since the 1940s.^{[citation needed]}

The Tijuana painted donkey, or Tijuana Zebra, came about some time in the middle of the twentieth century. The reason for painting the donkeys was to ensure that the animal be seen in photographs. Since the donkeys were mostly white, on sunny days with the old black and white cameras the donkey would be seen as a ghostly figure. A long-time tourist staple, the donkeys live on a hillside below the Casa de la Cultura in Tijuana.

See also

• Zebroid

References

1. ^ Buddy & Kay Davis. (2005). Marvels of creation.. Green Forest, AR: Master Books. p. 69. ISBN 9780890514566. "Zebras have been bred with donkeys, and the offspring are zonkeys." 
2. ^ Alejandro L. Madrid. (2008). Nor-tec rifa! : electronic dance music from Tijuana to the world. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 17,63. ISBN 9780195342628. "The history of and the everyday life in a place like Tijuana, [...] is marked by stereotypes from both Mexico and the United States (the donkeys painted as zebras) [...] — The presence of the stereotypical donkeys painted as zebras [...]" 
3. ^ edited by Ana Ma. Manzanas. (2007). Border transits : literature and culture across the line. Amsterdam: Rodopi. p. 40,55. ISBN 9789042022492. "My city isn't just a street filled with [...] striped donkeys made to look like zebras [...] — [...] Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana, the main tourist strip, where donkeys painted as zebras—"zonkeys" [z(ebra) (d)onkey] (Yepez 2005: 5=)—wait to pose for a picture with tourists." 
4. ^ ed. by Michael Dear ... With contrib. by Jo-Anne Berelowitz ... (2003). Postborder city : cultural spaces of Bajalta California. New York: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 9780415944205. "[...] "zonkeys," replicas of the black- and white-striped, painted burros commonly seen along the touristic Calle Revolucion in Tijuana. The zonkeys in Tijuana are props for tourists to pose alongside, [...]" 

External links

• Tijuana Zebras on Flickr
• photo on NY Times