The Hand that Cares for Donkeys at IPN

Jorge de Luna

"Hee-haw, hee-haw!" These are the brays of the white donkeys at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN). They seemed to be announcing the arrival of visitors to their stables in Zacatenco right at 12:30, but they were really just hungry.

"Come on in! We were waiting for you," says Don Víctor Sánchez Gutiérrez, their caretaker. In a confidential tone, he asks us to call him a "burro expert," as the females and males surround him, asking for their alfalfa and ground oats. By noon, they should be starting to eat the grass, which is their preferred culinary delight.

Behind the twenty-three specimens, nine males and fourteen females, there is a 63-year-old man who has dedicated over 11 years to caring for, brushing, and feeding the most famous and beloved quadrupeds. These animals have become symbols of Polytechnic identity, featured on jackets, t-shirts, pens, cups, folders, and a multitude of maroon and white items.

"Providing them with water and socializing them; but the most essential thing is getting the animals used to people," the caretaker narrates as one of his main tasks, affectionately calling them "juniors." At the Politécnico, they are pets, but for the past six thousand years, they have been used as pack animals.

"These animals are for work, but here they are juniors; they don't work here, they just eat and reproduce," he commented.

The donkeys have their stable among the American football training fields, "Pieles Rojas" and the Escuela Superior de Cómputo (Escom). Students on the sidewalk of Juan de Dios Bátiz Avenue in Zacatenco approach them for interaction.

"They come and ask me, 'Can we come in?' and I say, 'Yes.' I let them in so the little animals get used to people. When I take them to events, they won't be aggressive; they are well-behaved animals," he assures.

Times have changed; today, tractors and trucks are used. These equines, brought to America in the 15th century by Christopher Columbus, were initially used for their physical strength and ability to traverse mountainous and rocky terrain.

Don Víctor is not sure what breeds arrived in Aztec land, but he does know that this type of animal, now endangered, has walked through the pages of history during the "Conquest, Colonization, Independence, Reform, and Revolution."

"I only know that the white donkey comes from northern Spain. They are called 'pardos' or albinos, and the common donkey is known as 'criollo,'" he answers.

According to 17th-century chroniclers of the Indies, the breeds that initially arrived were Zamorano Leonés, Cordobés Andaluz, and Catalán, which later appeared in crosses with Encartaciones, Mallorquín, Rucio, and Alazana.

It seems that these could be among the ones his grandfather, Bruno González Sánchez, had, from whom he learned his first trade: "burro expert" at the age of 12. That's when he started working with his mother on the ranch in Guerrero.

He would wake up early, at five in the morning, and his grandfather would ask, "Why did you wake up so early?" He would reply, "I want to work; how can I help? Show me."

He would round up the animals. His cousins would come with his grandfather to borrow the donkey for a ride, and he would saddle it up. That was his first contact with these intelligent animals. The stigma of being "dumb" has followed donkeys throughout their lives, but it's a myth; donkeys have a memory that allows them to remember other donkeys and places for at least 25 years.

"I don't look like a rancher," he said when he came looking for work at the age of 50 when he had lost everything: his mother and his businesses, the pool halls that didn't even leave him enough for rent.

They put him to the test for two months, and he has remained the guardian of the donkeys that were adopted as pets in the 1930s by students and members of the first American football team in what is now the Santo Tomás Unit.

"I think there have been changes here. I fought to fix the stables, to provide a warehouse for them."

He admits he has no experience in medicine, but he knows what hurts or the mood of the donkeys. He informs the vet in charge of their ailments.

"If I see that one is calm and well, I give them a bath, I put a blanket on them. If they let me put on their socks, I do, and if not, let's go! But yes, I enjoy working at events," he said.

He remembers that during a game between Pumas and Águilas Blancas, he dared, along with the donkey, to take a victory lap. He says it was to show fraternity.

"For me, it was splendid that they took a picture with my donkey and me because it looked very nice. That's fraternity and true competition," he emphasized.

Platero, Polisalia, Cassia, Rubí, Polito... these are the donkeys that Don Víctor and the entire Polytechnic community adore.

Gaceta Politécnica #1739. (August 31st, 2023). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here