Colombian villagers are hoping to give US President Barack Obama a donkey that led a march of other burros in an effort to get the President to visit the town.
Dozens of Obama loyalists in the Colombian village of Turbaco in the north of the country took part in a donkeyback ride on Wednesday. The march was helmed by Demo, a donkey villagers hope to give to the US President, as the animal is the mascot of Obama’s Democratic Party. “I'm sure he hasn't received anything like this in his political career, the present of a donkey called Demo,” Silvio Carrasquilla, the former mayor of the village said. “And his name is Demo in honor of the Democratic Party.” Carrasquilla noted that Demo had already received all the necessary vaccinations. “He's little so there can be no excuse of lack of space for him on the presidential plane," he also added.The former mayor and a number of other villagers have been loyal followers of the US President since 2008, when Obama was still a candidate.The village features a “White House,” a building specifically designated for a possible Obama visit. Carrasquilla’s own house is also painted white and has a special room called the Oval Office dedicated to the US President.Back in 2008, the village also became a focal point of Obamamania. Carrasquilla built a Democratic Party election campaign center and extended an invitation to the then-Senator. The town even held a mirror-election unsurprisingly and overwhelmingly won by Senator Obama. The village also celebrated Obama’s 49th birthday on August 4, 2009 with another donkey, mariachis, two cakes decorated with US flags and a portrait of Obama to be donned by the President on his first visit to Turbaco. Turbaco is located just four miles away from the coastal city of Cartagena, the venue for the Sixth Summit of the Americas. President Obama is expected to arrive to Cartagena on Friday.But will Obama squeeze in some time into his schedule to greet his loyal fans in Turbaco and pick up the promised gifts? Although neither American nor Colombian authorities responded to the invitation, Carrasquilla noted that procedures to invite the President have already been initiated at the Colombian Foreign Ministry and the President’s Office.If Obama accepts the gift it may well become the most bizarre gift he has ever received, though not the most expensive. In 2010 Obama got a $395-pencil from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and a marble vase from Saudi King Abdullah valued at $34,500.