Hey, Santa Fe: the burros are coming, the burros are coming!
May 10—CERRILLOS — You would have thought Joyce Davis and her four-legged companion Carlotta were getting ready for Halloween.
Davis, clad in ranch hand attire, was gussying up Carlotta — a burro — with a sawbuck pack saddle with panniers to carry whatever supplies a woman miner, circa the 1800s, might need.
The placid Carlotta, a 19-year-old grey and white donkey who played Santa Claus' helper when no reindeer could be found during last December's Christmas celebration in nearby Madrid, did not seem to mind.
It was if she understood that come Sunday, she will be on display for all to see at the Camino de los Burros event in downtown Santa Fe.
The burro parade, scheduled to run from 8 to 10 a.m. Sunday in and around the Plaza, is designed to honor the contribution burros made in the past to the city, the Santa Fe Trail and all parts New Mexico, said organizer Jackie Fleming.
"Donkeys work so hard — they are invaluable," said Fleming, who runs a mustang rescue operation near Watrous and owns four donkeys, or burros, as they are known in Spanish.
A burro lover, Fleming said her interest in all things related to the Santa Fe Trail led her to many photos and pictures of burros showing the role they played in conveying goods and people across the trail in the 1800s.
"I thought: 'Wouldn't it be fun to have a donkey walk in Santa Fe?'" she said. Thus motivated, she put out a call for burros and people and has at least 10 of each willing to show up for the parade, which naturally will go through Burro Alley, among other streets downtown.
Fleming will bring one of her donkeys, Lena, to the event. She said the parade is something of a costume party in that all participants, including the burros, are encouraged to dress the part.
Fleming said she wants to "capture the feel of traditional, historic donkeys rather than modern donkeys."
That's the reason Davis is working to ensure Carlotta, as well as a miniature donkey known as Sweet Patootie who belongs to a friend, look like they stepped out of an 1800s picture book when they appear in the parade Sunday.
"I like their personality," Davis said of donkeys. "I like that they are smart. They're smarter than horses. They learn faster, pick up on things quicker and retain it for a long time."
Noting the use of donkey-drawn carts in Gaza as the Israeli-Hamas war rages on, she emphasized they are known as "beasts of burden" and often are asked to work tirelessly with little food or water.
"And they keep on going," she said.
In an email, State Historian Rob Martinez noted burros "have been a significant part of New Mexico animal culture since colonial times. Along with the horse, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens, colonists from Spain and New Spain (now Mexico) brought pack animals such as donkeys to do the heavy lifting. Trade caravans moving north and south along the Camino Real connecting New Mexico to places such as Parral and Chihuahua were populated with mules and donkeys carrying goods, foods and people to their destinations."
Fleming said she hopes the event goes well enough to inspire annual follow-ups, always around May 8, which is World Donkey Day.
Of course, that will only happen if the donkeys go along with the idea. Davis and Fleming said the animal is known for being stubborn.
"A lot of that is being cautious," Fleming said. "They might stomp their feet and refuse to move and say, 'No way' if they don't want to do something.
"You can't really argue with a donkey. You will lose."
