Peter Vitola has been dressing up donkeys for more than a decade. On Easter Sunday， his donkey Juancho was decked out with what looked like a wooden coffin on his back. On his sides， a smiling grim reaper and three plastic jugs that look like bottles of rum. After making drunk man′s faces for the cameras， Vitola explains the message behind his donkey′s costume.

"I chose this character because sometimes we have to battle rum addiction，" said Vitola. "Rum is bad for health" he says， "people get drunk and lose control."

Vitola knows that the jury here is not really judging the donkey′s beauty， what counts is how the costume conveys a sense of sarcasm， its message and its creativity.

The donkey parade at the donkey beauty contest in San Antero， Colombia 

Over 30 donkeys were entered in the contest， hoping to be crowned the king or queen of the festival. They′re dressed as dodgy businessmen and popstars bearing peace banners. There′s even an entry that alludes to the economic crisis， it′s owners hold a placard that says "we′ve been run over by poverty"

It’s all very carnival like. And like many carnivals around the world， the donkey festival has Christian roots. 

Julio Díaz teaches at a local highschool. He′s one of the festival′s organizers and knows the history of the donkey pagent.